Riot Act
by Angel of the Axis
Summary: AU. On the eve of a royal wedding, a group of rebels kill Prince Sasuke's bride-to-be. Enraged, his father declares war on them - and thus kickstarts an even bigger rebellion amongst his subjects. With the arrival of a forgotten rival's granddaughter and her protégé, who will win this bloody tug-o-war for the throne? Full summary inside. M for violence, bad language, and more.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Helloooooooo! Some of you (well, okay, hardly any of you) might recognize this fic. This was originally posted to Ao3 a while ago, but I decided to post it here instead. As per usual, I own absolutely nothing (except a few OCs). (And yes, this is another mostly-angsty 'rebelling against a corrupt government/royal family' AU. It's my weakness (aside from fluff), sue me.**

**FULL SUMMARY:**

_**AU. A tumultuous kingdom, an arranged marriage, and a group of traitorous spellcasters that call themselves 'Riot'. On the eve of the marriage, the bride is killed, and Riot moves in to attack the castle. Enraged, the crown prince orders that anyone practicing magic is to be killed. Riot is heavily crippled, but luck turns in their favor, in the form of six girls - a 'dead' princess, the daughter of a long-lost rival family, a florist, a soldier, a missing prisoner-of-war, and a lady-in-waiting.**_

**The usual rules apply: please keep it civil in the comments, feel absolutely free to question what will happen next, you know the drill by now. (if you absolutely must tell me what a piece of shit this is, please PM me about it. If you absolutely must tell me that you think a certain pairing is the worst thing in the history of the show, please just PM me about it. Of course, no hard feelings if you do!)**

**Oh, and one more thing: this WILL have a bit of SasuSaku, NaruHina, the usual pairings. There will also be others (such as HinaSaku) that I don't normally write.**

**Full list (so far): SasuSaku, NaruHina, ShikaTema, JiraTsu, FugaMiko, and another one involving Kakashi (NO SPOILERS YET!)**

**Minor pairings (so far): HinaSaku, ShikaIno, slight, _slight_ SasuHina.**

**Without further rambling (and making this super long), here's the prologue! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Prologue_

* * *

**MAY 31, XX18**

**HIDDEN LEAF VILLAGE, FIRE KINGDOM**

* * *

The capital city of the kingdom of Fire was alight in celebration. Banners and streamers decorated the sparse, brick walls, and the air was sweet with flowers.

Villagers, coming and going, greeted each other cheerfully. Children ran up and down the streets, laughing, and the elderly stood, mingling with pride as they recounted the event to take place the next morning.

High above the city, in one of the castle's towers, a beautiful princess-to-be gazed nervously into a mirror as a girl with hair like fire slowly adjusted a pearl circlet on her head.

"You look heavenly, my lady," she murmured adoringly as she pulled her hands away. "I'm quite sure that the prince will have some trouble keeping his eyes off of you tomorrow morning."

The woman, having only scarcely turned eighteen, tried to smile at her new lady-in-waiting. This marriage troubled her, and it was, by no doubt, not either of their decisions. Nevertheless, she bowed her head humbly and replied quietly, "Thank you, Karin-san."

Karin bowed to her and respectfully backed out of the room, leaving her to herself in what would be her wedding dress.

The garment was lovely, or at least it was to her standards. It was a rather modest dress, pure white and ending at her shoulders. The skirt opened like a rose with its many 'petals', and even if she lifted her foot, she couldn't see the snowy slippers she wore. On the back was the crest of the royal family - a white and red uchiwa fan.

Gone was her family's crest, she noticed with a frown. Her father would surely be at least mildly affronted that she was forced to throw away her heritage, but at the present time, he seemed mostly satisfied with the match and would not openly oppose.

A fortuitous alliance between two very powerful families; the ruling Uchiha and the influential Hyuuga. She herself wished she could call it off, but to call off a marriage to the crown prince would be a fate worse than death.

If he actually let her end the engagement cleanly, she would face worse at home. She would be considered a disgrace to the family and would be treated like a pariah. They wouldn't even skip a beat - as soon as her sister came of age, they would probably propose to marry _her_ to the prince. Her sweet younger sister, whom she loved more than anyone else in the world- well, except one.

The prince's best friend and personal bodyguard, the man with tresses of sunshine and eyes like the vast sea. Namikaze Naruto was his name, and Hinata was a woman deep in love.

Sadly, this match would never be. As much as she pined for him, he'd never actually come out and returned her feelings. Plus, the only time she'd recently been to the castle was when their arranged marriage was being planned, and it would be considered near treason to snatch the prince's intended.

So she sighed to herself, careful not to cry her makeup off. The prince was not to see her until the morning, and thus she was forced to wait, wait, and wait some more, passing the hours and growing more and more anxious as the sun set.

When Karin came back into the room to disrobe her and get her ready for bed, she noticed the noirette's suppressed tears and shook her head.

"Milady, don't worry so much about this." Karin placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, leaning in. "I have a plan to get out of here, if you wish to leave."

"I can't go home, remember?" Hinata whispered back. "I would be - nay, I _am_ \- a disgrace."

"You are beautiful, yes, but you are also the kindest mistress I've ever had." Karin objected with a soft smile. "Listen- I'm in contact with a member of Riot."

"_No_!" The woman gasped in horror. "That criminal rebellion?"

"The very same." The grin on the redhead's face was almost malevolent. "They plan to fake your death and recruit you to their side. We only have tonight to do it, though. Are you in?"

Hinata blanched when Karin smoothly slipped a small vial out of her sleeve. Despite not quite catching its color, she knew what it was - 'poison' designed to slow your breathing to the point of perceived death. It'd been used before, as a plot device in that old tragedy her tutors had read to her, but seeing it in person was enough to make her skin crawl.

"A- Are you sure that this is the only way?" She asked, desperately trying not to imagine swallowing the translucent liquid.

"The attack will happen a little after twilight. We don't have much time left." Karin shook her head. "It's now or never. In fact-"

She peeked out of the curtains, only faintly catching a glimpse of a flash from the gardens. "- I'd say they're already here."

Hinata gulped, clasping her hands on her chest. When she'd prayed of a way out of this marriage, she hadn't thought of poison. And what would her dearest sister say when she found out?

_But..._ she eyed the vial once more. This could be the way out she prayed for.

* * *

The night sky lit up with an explosion, one of the castle towers gutted in its wake.

The guards began shouting, readying for battle even as the rebels stormed the capital.

A few managed to slip inside and made their way through the corridors. One kicked open the door to Hinata's chambers, only to see Karin protecting her with her back to the flames.

She looked up, gritting her teeth in pain. "She did it... the explosion was too much for us. My back- it's burned badly. Get us out of here!"

They carried both Karin and the noble's body out before that part of the floor could crumble away, carrying nearly half of the room with it.

As the room collapsed, a single article of clothing fell with it. The wedding dress floated to the ground, the skirt charred and ripped. Shreds of fabric scattered around the site like blackened confetti.

The dress, having been removed and placed back on the mannequin next to the wardrobe, fluttered as it fell in pieces to the castle grounds, the flames charring it so badly that it was reduced to nothing but ribbons, the uchihwa fan completely singed from the back of the garment. It proved a macabre threat for the guards when the arrived at the crash site.

* * *

**A/N: How about that. I've got a lotta chapters saved up (until chapter 13, I think), but I'll still be dragging out the uploads (to be exact, one every week) so that I can write some more in the interim. I have no clue what the final count will be, but I'll definitely let you know when I finish!**

**Please tell me what you thought of this first chapter, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here's the next chapter!**

**(Also, yes, Naruto will be going by his father's name in this fic. You'll see why later.)**

* * *

_Chapter 1: Here Comes the Bride_

* * *

Even before dawn, the prince was summoned to his father's quarters.

"What is all of this?" Prince Sasuke grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Are the blasted rebels dead?"

"Worse." The king, Fugaku, stared at his youngest son solemnly. "It seems that their primary target was one of our towers... the tower that your bride resided in."

Coal eyes widened. "You- you don't mean-"

A silent nod confirmed his worry. "Yes. I'm sorry, Sasuke. It seems that Hyuuga Hinata is dead."

Ivory teeth were grit, fists clenched, as his best friend placed a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"I'll kill them..." He muttered darkly to himself. "I'll kill them all for this!"

"Namikaze." Fugaku then addressed the blond. "Send a messenger to the home of Hyuuga Hiashi at once."

"Yes, my king." The boy bowed and turned, exiting the room and racing down the hall.

Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, drew her son in for an embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke," she whispered, eyes saddened. "We'll find you another. Perhaps Yamanaka Ino?"

He scowled. "No, not her. She's been infatuated with me ever since we were twelve."

"Then perhaps the Haruno girl? What was her name...? Sakura?"

"She died six years ago, remember?" He said flatly. "During the Battle of Castle Point?"

"Well then, how about..." She hummed, tapping her chin. "Fugaku, who else in the kingdom would be worthy of marriage?"

He frowned into the fire. "... I can't recall. Hyuuga was our best bet."

"At this point, I doubt Hyuuga Hiashi would be willing to give Lady Hanabi in marriage..." his mother hummed, tapping her chin. "After they receive word of Lady Hinata, we will have to work harder to find a candidate."

Sasuke's fist clenched tighter at the mention of his bride.

"There's always an Uzumaki," she insisted. "How about that girl... what was her name...? Karin?"

"No," Fugaku shook his head. "She's not from any well-to-do family in the kingdom. Any of the Uzumaki clan who are still alive have fled Fire."

And, as an afterthought, "She is also one of the ones reported dead from the explosion. I hardly think I have to tell you that the people wouldn't take too kindly to the next queen of Fire being a corpse."

"Oh, there's got to be _someone_." Mikoto exclaimed, running a soothing hand through her son's unruly bedhead. "But who?"

* * *

The morning dawned, bright and fair, despite the events of the night before. Birds warbled as a young girl with pink hair down to her breasts splashed some creek water into her face.

She hummed a merry tune, looking up only when an older blonde woman approached. "Good morning, Mother."

"Good morning to you too, Sakura." The woman smiled, ruffling the girl's hair. "It's such a gorgeous morning, no?"

"Indeed," she agreed with a grin. "Not to mention, the invasion went quite well, if my reports are accurate. Karin and the princess are said to have died in the explosion."

"Excellent." The woman cupped her hands in the water, drawing them to her face for a drink. Exhaling in satisfaction, she stood again. "Let me know the hour they make it to camp."

"Of course." The girl stood up, brushing the dirt off of her shorts. A young woman of only nineteen, she was among the best in her mother's squad in both healing and hand-to-hand combat. The prowess of her punch was dwarfed only by her mother's, as the proud woman liked to boast.

It seemed so long ago that she'd fled the capital for the life of a rogue, but it was a life well-spent. At least here she didn't have to worry about her father getting summoned to fight... if she even still _had_ one.

The last time she saw her father, she was only thirteen, skinny as a pole, and with a disproportionately large forehead to boot. She was always daydreaming, she remembered, especially about getting wed to the prince.

She snorted to herself, turning her back on the breathtaking view of the mountains. _So much for that dream._

She found a spot by the campfire, a seat beside an older mercenary with long hair tied back in a loose ponytail. His sharp, scarlet-tinted eyes scanned the forest.

They'd found him only a year before she came, a quiet young man who seemed to hate the royal family with a burning fire worthy of an Uchiha. He didn't speak of his past life much, only that he was once a prince, and that he left for hope of a better future.

Vaguely, she'd heard rumors of another one like him - the same hair like ravens' feathers, eyes with a tint of garnet - although this one was more malevolent, claiming to be at least related to the prince's great-grandfather, long deceased.

_Meh, whatever. _She figured that as long as they could get as many Uchiha on their side as possible, the better for them in the long run. Even if they had to resort to talking young nobles into joining the cause, they would soon have a suitable-enough number to consider taking the king's army head-on without resorting to surprise attacks.

Anything if it meant taking the Uchiha down a peg and showing the denizens how corrupt their kingdom really was.

"How was your rest, Itachi-san?" She asked politely, poking some rocks in the fire pit.

He hummed in reply. "It was satisfactory, thank you."

That was how the majority of their conversations went, more or less. He was a rather taciturn man, never speaking unless addressed, always standing imposingly in the corner during strategy meetings.

She nodded. His words were good enough for her. "That sounds nice."

His eyes slid to look at her for a few seconds before he closed them.

Itachi was a rather strange man by most standards. He still bore a resemblance to the missing 17-year-old prince Uchiha Itachi from yesteryear, but you couldn't really tell unless looking at him from the front. His hair had been cut so that it barely brushed the bottom of his earlobes, but Itachi's hair now was long, straight, and hung down to the middle of his back. He was much taller than before, too, and had thinned out/bulked up more. While measurements for the ex-crown-prince had him standing at 5'3" or so on his birthday, Itachi now stood at a good 5'8". The ex-prince had lost any semblance of baby fat he'd once had, instead sleek and muscled. (His abs were _very_ tempting when he was being treated - they'd had to rely on whatever male medics they could come across or some of their soldiers to heal him now.) The biggest addition to his appearance had been premature eye wrinkles. They only ever popped out when he either frowned or smiled (which, for the former, was quite a bit) and did a lot to both make him look older and disguise him a little better.

"Sakura," Tsunade, her mother, came to the two and sat down beside her, "I've received word that the Akatsuki will be stopping in for a night."

"The _Akatsuki_," Sakura breathed in wonder. For as long as she'd been a rebel, the Akatsuki had been her idols. Daring fugitives, some even from the capital city itself, had fought against the Uchiha's oppressive rule even before she was born. To be close to such a band of men was an honor to her, and not just because of the deadly kunoichi, Konan, in their midst.

Infiltration missions were her bread and butter. It was said that if you ordered her to infiltrate the palace posing as a concubine, she would be in and out in only a couple of days with the required information without even being looked at twice. She was the best of the best, and she was Sakura's inspiration - with Tsunade, Konan was someone she aspired to be. Deadly, brave, and beautiful.

Akatsuki was also the rogue squad that Itachi happened to belong to. Once he'd proven himself to Tsunade, she immediately sent him to its leader. She was right to, as reports began to come in praising the then-teenager's aptitude for stealth.

Itachi inclined his head ever-so-slightly to Tsunade as she looked to him.

"You'll have your next mission sometime tomorrow, if we intercept the Hyuuga heiress before then." She stated.

He nodded to her, mute as ever.

* * *

**A/N: Just to get a few questions out of the way: NO, Tsunade isn't Sakura's biological mother in this, and YES, we will see her parents alive. She calls Tsunade 'Mother' for reasons that will be explained in at least the next couple of chapters.**

**... And yes, I know that in part 1 Itachi is measured at 5'6" or 5'7". Let's just say that in this universe, he was much shorter when he was 17.**

**Tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's where the action begins. It'll be kinda slow (mostly because I don't want this to just be, say, twenty chapters long), but I promise it'll pick up the pace.**

**And yeah, I know this is early, but it's my birthday today (and, coincidentally, Tsunade's too)! I hope you all have a great day.**

**I'm so excited to post the rest of this story; I'm making so much progress already! Without further ado, I'll see you at the bottom!**

* * *

_Chapter 2: In Retaliation_

* * *

"Keep running-!"

"Over here! I found one!"

"Let's kill 'em all! Hah, look at'em run, the little rats!"

Screaming pervaded the village of Morino as the king's soldiers hurled blazing torches into the homes and stables. People scattered like ants, unlucky ones getting impaled by swords and shot with arrows.

"Why are you doing this?" A wailing mother demanded as two soldiers surrounded her, clubs in hand. She was clutching the corpse of her young son to her body, cradling his head on her chest. His blood was splattered across her face, decorating it like war paint. "What have we done?"

"King's orders," one sneered, readying his weapon. "Intel is that Riot uses this spot for refuge. Might as well kill two birds with one stone, eh? Or, rather, _two criminals with one club_."

* * *

Sasuke stared out of one of the long, ascending windows in the hall at the city down below. Somewhere, in the dense forests, he could see smoke billowing from a break in the trees.

His lips curled into a smirk. Good riddance. He'd always hated that village. On one hand, it was where many troublemakers in the kingdom always seemed to slither around, and second, it was one of the major Castle Point battlegrounds several years prior, a certain spot where his father had nearly been assassinated, and he himself had nearly been kidnapped for ransom.

_And what a shame, _he thought sarcastically, _especially since they'd just gotten everything rebuilt._

"This won't fix the problem, y'know," his best friend, Naruto, commented from his position leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest.

"That doesn't mean I can't get a certain amount of satisfaction watching that damned village get burned to the ground." Sasuke's words were venomous, his eyes glinting with amusement at the rising flames. "Besides, my father commanded that Riot was also to be attacked, not just that village. Anyone without proper identification will be killed on sight, as well as anyone known helping them."

"What about foreigners, though?" Naruto pressed, frowning at him. "You do know that Gaara's still pissed at us for keeping his sister, right?"

Ah, yes. The hotheaded (both in reputation and appearance, unfortunately) next-in-line for the throne in Suna. His older sister had been easy to acquire, and as it seemed, easier to lose.

"Bah, that diplomat is of no use to me." He waved his arm dismissively. "Besides, if he wanted her so bad, he should have came here and gotten her himself."

Cerulean eyes eyed the prince warily. "Somehow, I don't think a war with Suna is gonna fix things, but hey, what do I know?"

"It's hardly our fault if some mercenaries managed to do her in." Sasuke glanced back at his friend with a cool glance. "If anything, it's a favor. At least now we'll have grounds to draw up a treaty with Suna as a trump card if they try attacking the capital again."

Naruto didn't respond, merely humming and closing his eyes.

* * *

Karin gasped in pain as a woman reapplied the salve to her naked back. She grit her teeth, resisting the urge to scream as some of her deeper burns reacted to the ointment.

"You've done great thus far," the medic clucked her tongue as she took in the girl's injuries. "To think you were that close to the explosion. Again, I apologize for the aim."

"All for the sake of keeping the princess unharmed, right?" She hissed through her teeth, forcing herself to smile as tears dotted her eyes.

"Ah, that does remind me. She should still be out for another few hours." The woman capped the tube and helped Karin stand back up. "Here; go lie on your stomach in the tent. I'll wake you when the medicine has dried."

Karin thanked her as she was helped to the tent. As she lay down, the stress of what happened caught up to her, and it wasn't long before she fell into a deep sleep.

The medic peeked in on her every so often, accompanied by a girl with hair like sand, frizzy and rough.

"Thank you once again for your help," the medic bowed to the younger woman.

"It was no problem," she shrugged with a tense smile. "Anything to get the hell out of there."

"I surmised that you must've been captured at some point. For what purpose, though?" The two sat down in the shade of a nearby tree as the rest of their troop moved around.

"I assume they only held me there as a hostage." Her lip curled in a snarl. "A trap for my father. Pathetic."

The woman patted her shoulder sympathetically. "Yes, well, that's all they think we're good for, isn't it? To be held as bargaining chips or as tools."

"Is that... is that why you left?" Temari, the girl, blinked at the older woman before her.

"Partially." The healer chuckled wryly. "I was getting married at the time. Ah, I remember him so dearly. Three days after the wedding, he was summoned to the front lines, where he was killed in the battle against Oto."

"I remember that one." Temari nodded. "My father sent some troops as backup, as I recall."

"They weren't enough, though." The healer's clear, earthy eyes grew hard. "As soon as I received word that my new husband was killed, I was told that I was to be the wife of another soldier - one that I hated."

"And so you left," she breathed, leaning back against a tree. "Damn."

"Damn indeed." The woman heaved a sigh, brushing a hand through her short cocoa tresses. "That was years ago, of course, but... but I still haven't forgiven them for taking my love away from me so quickly."

"I'm so sorry." Temari shook her head. "What hasn't the Uchiha taken away from us at this point? You, your husband, me, my freedom..."

"The to-be-princess, of course," The brunette added, "and Karin. Both unwilling pawns in this game of theirs."

"Ah, yes, the Hyuuga girl." Temari wrinkled her nose. "What does she have that the prince wanted, anyway?"

"Wealth, influence," the woman lowered her voice, "_cannon fodder_."

The sandy-haired girl shot her a disgusted look.

Brown eyes bore into turquoise for a few seconds before she shrugged.

"They would've done the same to Suna, had your father sent one of your brothers to get you." She reminded. "You shouldn't be so surprised."

"I'm not." Temari insisted with a shake of her head. "I just can't understand _why_-"

One of the other soldiers walked up to them, bowing to the medic. "Miss Noh, we've intercepted a message from Leader-sama."

"Oh, good." Noh's eyes sparkled as she took the letter. When she opened it, her heart sank and her eyes widened in horror.

"What's it say?" Temari asked, leaning in to see.

"Twenty-five... murdered..." She whispered, covering her mouth with one hand. "Oh, Kami..."

Temari's eyes turned to stone as they skimmed over the paper.

"I'm sorry, milady." The soldier looked genuinely apologetic. "It seems that Troop 9 did not survive the attack."

Her teeth ground against each other as her hand began to shake. The paper crumpled in her fist and she shot a deadly glare to the forest.

"Temari, be a dear and check on Karin's back." She said with faux nonchalance. "If it's dry, then get ready to pack your bags, because we need to leave. _Now_."

Temari, a bit taken-aback, nodded and got up, rushing to the medical tent.

Noh stood, brushing the dirt off of her pants. She looked up at the sky, Temari's earlier words ringing in her head...

_"What hasn't the Uchiha taken from us at this point?"_

* * *

**A/N: Yes, a certain someone has made her debut. No spoilers, but she's going to be important real soon!**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

_Chapter 3: Troubling News_

* * *

"Twenty-five dead, the entirety of Troop 9 and a few from Troop 12." Tsunade recited to the leader of the Akatsuki, a shadowy man with bright orange hair and pale skin.

He nodded, his piercings glinting in the light. "This is... troubling, to say the least."

"I'll say." Tsunade barked a laugh, but she wasn't feeling funny. "They're picking off our soldiers like flies out there."

"Don't worry, hm." A blonde young man of only twenty-four smiled at her. "They won't catch us. We'll be telling you all about it before next Wednesday."

"You'd better!" Tsunade nudged him hard, but a grin was on her face. "I want all of the information you have on Sunday, big bust or not. And... please, be careful."

The leader nodded again, gathering his robes around himself. "We'd better head out if we want to keep that promise."

"Good luck," Sakura piped up.

One of the taller members, a man with suspiciously-blue skin, grinned toothily and pulled her close for a noogie.

"Don't sweat it, shorty." He chuckled as she protested, trying to get away. "We'll be just fine!"

* * *

"Hear ye! Hear ye!" A messenger shouted, catching the attention of the people in the square. "The esteemed King Fugaku has made a new decree!"

He made a big show of unrolling the scroll and began reading loudly, "On this day of the new era, June 1, let it be known that any and all members of the rebel group Riot are to be targeted and brought to justice for the crimes they have committed against the royal family!"

The crowd began to murmur. A woman with sunny blonde hair and a man with graying mauve hair both looked at each other and sadly shook their heads.

"Any attempts to riot against the royal family will be subsequently squelched and the rioters' families purged." The man's eyes had an uneasy gleam in the light, but it was gone before anyone else could notice. "And, in addition, if you are caught harboring a known criminal, your family will also be purged, and the criminal hung in the square!"

The crowd began murmuring even louder, some shouting out their disagreement to the chagrin of their loved ones. The blonde woman and mauve-haired man held each other closer.

Somewhere in the village square, a young man of noble birth and unruly earthen hair sighed heavily. He turned to his friends, an orphan and a martial-artist's charge, and gestured to them both. They nodded in unison and slowly disappeared from the throng.

* * *

"My son," the queen busied herself with running her fingers through his hair as he leaned against her, "has your father's new rule appeased your anger?"

"Yes, Mother." He smiled into her shoulder, closing his eyes in bliss at the feeling of her gentle hands. "By the time I find a new bride, I hope they're destroyed."

The queen gave an indulgent half-smile at her youngest son, humming in response.

Nearby, Naruto leaned against the wall, arms folded across his chest as he stared out of the double-pane windows and into the front gardens.

"For your sake, I hope you find someone quickly," the blond snarked, though with no real heat behind his words.

"Naruto," she chastised gently.

"It'll be difficult to find someone who can outshine her in all her qualities." The prince retorted, opening his eyes to glare half-heartedly at his friend.

"Sure, sure," he waved a hand dismissively. "Difficult, yeah, if there were any single maiden in the kingdom that you would actually consider."

"Picking a young lady who proves to be loyal and kind is a challenge." Mikoto chimed in, muttering under her breath, "Especially in this age."

Naruto merely shrugged, pushing himself off the wall to walk over to where the two royals sat.

He plopped down on a sofa next to them, sighing in content as he did. "How on earth do you get these chairs to be so comfy, your Highness?"

The noirette giggled, giving him a sly wink. "A woman never reveals her secrets. You'd do well to remember that, Naruto."

* * *

A scrawny orphan girl huffed tiredly as she dug deeper into the ground, her 'brother' racing about with tools and seeds.

"How about not leaving everything to the last minute next time?" She called sarcastically to another boy, lounging in the shade of a peach tree.

"What's the fun of that?" He answered sleepily, lifting the book off of his face for a few seconds to squint at them. "Besides, you two seem to have everything under control."

"True, but I don't think I'll be able to keep going much longer." A boy with straight black hair in a bowl cut sent him an apologetic look as he dropped the bag of seeds onto the dirt. "Shikamaru, aren't we supposed to be going over the Thing?"

The boy frowned, pausing for a moment.

The girl finally angled her shovel in such a way that she could easily drive it into the ground, leaning on it while dabbing at her forehead with a grubby handkerchief.

"I gotta agree with Lee." She gave her sibling a nod. "It's such a waste of time to be working on some stupid garden when we should be discussing the Thing."

"We can't right now. Ino's here." Shikamaru gestured with his eyes to the back door, placing the book back over his face. "Until she leaves, we have to wait."

"What is Yamanaka even doing here?" Lee wondered to himself. "Marriage?"

"Kami forbid." Shikamaru snorted. "They're talking with my father about merging our trades."

"Flowers and intellect." Tenten, the girl, said flatly.

"Our families have been friends for generations." He took the book away again to give her a glare. "This could turn out to be a great decision in the long-run for us. Yamanakas aren't feared for their expertise in horticulture, after all."

The two siblings stood in silence, Tenten staring down the lazy teenager before finally looking away, rolling her eyes.

She yanked out the shovel, now digging holes more aggressively, while Lee watched on in thought.

After a few minutes, he grabbed a handful of seeds and began to sow them, humming to himself, "...I wonder how she's doing."

"She?" Tenten echoed in confusion for a moment. "You mean-"

"Flower, yes," he interrupted with a nod.

The trio grew quiet as an overjoyed shout was heard from inside the house, and Shikamaru sat up and leaned against a tree.

They waited, Tenten poking at the dirt with the tip of her shovel, until they were sure that nobody would eavesdrop.

"Last thing I heard is that the Flower made it to its destination." Shikamaru confirmed, shutting the book and laying it on the grass. "If that new law is right..."

"...then Riot's going to have more problems than just infiltrating the castle." Lee finished with a sigh of despair. "We knew it wouldn't be easy, but... but I hate that we didn't think of this contingency."

"Not even the Nara clan can think of everything." Shikamaru spared him a comforting smile. "The Uchiha family is already unpredictable."

"They sure live up to their nickname," Tenten glowered at the ground at the thought. "Spitfire is an understatement."

"If the Flower perishes in the flames, we already have a blessing to continue on without it." Lee's shoulders squared, and his eyes narrowed in determination. "We will become a Phoenix in her place."

Tenten gave him a weird look. "You've been spouting off about stuff like 'phoenixes' and 'lotus flowers' for a while now. You okay, Lee?"

"Huh? Never better." He seemed to snap out of something and gave her a big grin, complete with a thumbs-up. "Sorry... sometimes thinking of what would happen if she died..."

Shikamaru cut off that thought by getting to his feet, brushing off the back of his trousers. "We won't let that happen. I promised her. We promised her."

Tenten chuckled, throwing her shovel to the ground. "You're right. No matter what happens, we're loyal to the Violet and the Iris."

"What about the Dahlia?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow. "You think it made it as well?"

"I know it did." Tenten nodded once, firmly. "It's not the type to just keel over when things get rough."

"Of course not."

* * *

**A/N: Flower = kinda-too-obvious codename for Sakura? The flower codenames and their owners will be revealed in a bit.**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: It's gotten to the point that I'm so excited to post chapters again. Having a concrete upload schedule is amazing! Anyway, here's the next one! Also, backstory (thankfully, not the mother fuckload of backstory yet... that's saved for another chapter).**

* * *

_Chapter 4: Friendly Company_

* * *

In the coolness of the night, Sakura shivered under her cloak.

"You're still cold?" Tsunade turned to glance over at her, a worried look on her face.

"A bit," the girl confessed, clutching the cup closer to her chest, "but I'll be fine. I've braved worse."

"Ah, that you have." Tsunade nodded solemnly, remembering that past event. "To this day, I still can't understand how a girl of your age could be so _scrawny_."

"Blame the Uchihas," Sakura laughed mirthlessly. "Between their taxes and my father's business taking a dive when the border between Fire and Sand closed, the only things eating more than I on a regular basis were the village mutts."

The older blonde woman clucked her tongue, gently wrapping an arm around the teenager and pulling her closer to huddle against her frame.

"Good thing you found me when you did, though." Sakura continued, sending her mentor a grateful grin. "Had you taken a day longer, I probably would have died."

"Of the animals?"

"Or starvation, whichever won out first." She shrugged.

Tsunade chuckled, leaning in to rest her chin on the crown of her head.

As much of an eyesore as it was, Sakura adored her hair. Once a bright strawberry-blonde combination of her parents' hair, over the years it had become a bright, natural cherry blossom pink, much like the ethereal blooms she was named for. She'd always kept it at an impractical length before she 'went missing' in hopes of catching the affections of the prince - who'd been rumored to love long-haired women once upon a time ago - much like every other preteen and teenage girl six years before. At that time, a girl with long, pinkish hair was either seen as an oddity or a beauty.

Luckily, she'd grown out of it, preferring it to fall at the top of her breasts instead of going towards her knees. They'd once thought of dying it to hide her identity, should they travel to any major village in Fire, but when they tried dying it blonde, the dye somehow turned her hair a sick shade of orange-brown and wouldn't wash out for two weeks. Colored contacts were out of the question, as well, since they were constantly on the move and didn't always have access to clean water and sterilizing supplies. Magic was out, too, as she was still learning and found it very tiring to keep up a ruse for too long. The most she could do was a week with her energy levels.

Even if they were 'rebels' against the Crown, they weren't exactly miracle workers.

Then again, once she was able to gain a copy of Tsunade's forehead seal, just about anything would become possible for her. It was what they'd been training for ever since she was fourteen. Every day, she grew closer to that absolute power.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as a scout approached them in the nook of camp.

"My lady, forgive the intrusion, but the Gamma Squadron is approaching." He bowed to her.

She startled, letting go of Sakura and getting to her feet. "Bring them to the Strategy Tent."

She turned to her mentee with an apologetic grimace. "Sakura-"

"Go ahead." She smiled. "I'll join you in a few minutes."

* * *

Temari trudged towards her assigned tent, collapsing to the soft fabric bottom with a drawn-out groan.

"Sweet relief," she murmured into her bedroll.

Noh stifled a giggle as she knelt beside her, setting up her side of the tent. "Don't forget, we have to check in with Tsunade."

Temari mumbled something unintelligible, but she soon pushed herself up and set up her own bedroll.

Noh looked up when Karin hobbled in, supported by Hinata.

"Ah, you're looking well." The medic exclaimed, getting to her feet.

She took the lady's hand. "How are you feeling, Lady Hyuuga?"

"I'm feeling just fine, thank you so much." She gave the woman a polite smile. "And please, call me Hinata. Lady Hyuuga was the name my mother took."

Noh nodded, turning to Karin. "How's your back holding up?"

"It'll be better after a good night's sleep," she replied with a wince.

Temari turned to face her. "As long as it's not infected, and as long as you don't have big bubbles of pus, I think you'll be good."

She glanced over to Noh. "Right?"

"Of course." She gave a firm nod. "Be careful, maybe sleep on your stomach for tonight, and we'll check on it in the morning."

* * *

"Glad to see your party still in one piece," Tsunade greeted as they stepped into the tent. Noh waved at Sakura, who sat at Tsunade's right, and the girl grinned in response.

"It wasn't easy, especially since they seem to have suddenly increased their troops." She replied, taking a seat. "It was even harder this evening, since they seem to be specifically looking for anyone matching Hinata's description."

"What for?" Sakura demanded, eyes wide. "Is it because we didn't leave a body?"

"Oh, no, the 'death' slowed them down," Noh shook her head, "but when they went to sift through the rubble, the fact that we didn't leave any trace of Hinata's 'remains' tipped them off to something suspicious."

Said heiress winced a little at the mention, but she kept her hands folded demurely in her lap, not portraying her inner turmoil.

"And how is Karin?" Tsunade asked, thankfully changing the subject. "She's resting in the medical tent right now, yes?"

"Yes, she is." Noh nodded. "Her back is still badly burned, but thankfully, they don't look to be third-degree like we first thought they were. She's been managing."

"Thank Kami," Sakura breathed. "It wouldn't bode well for us if we lost one of our best."

"No, it definitely wouldn't." Tsunade agreed with a frown. "I assume you got the news?"

"About Troops 9 and 12? Of course." Noh mirrored her face, folding her arms across her chest. "Such a tragic, senseless waste of human life."

"I shouldn't have stationed them so close to the village," Tsunade said, shaking her head bitterly. "I hear it was practically _target practice_."

"Mother, you shouldn't blame yourself." Sakura placed a gentle hand on the older woman's arm.

"No, this time, I should." The older woman retorted, her fingers curling into a tight fist. "I knew we would try to get Hinata out, and I still decided to tempt fate by stationing them close by. This... this _massacre_... this is my fault."

* * *

**A/N: Hooray, our heroes are united!**

**Also, just a quick note: If you hate certain main characters/pairings, then please do me a favor and just PM me about your complaints! I'm here for you to hate on... in PMs only.**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys later!**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Here's the next one!**

* * *

_Chapter 5: To Be King_

* * *

Early the next morning saw a certain noiret Uchiha prince lying, sleepless and exhausted, in his bed.

The sun had just begun to rise, its cheerful rays slowly creeping across the floor to crawl upon his bedsheets.

He stared up at the ceiling with half-lidded eyes as he silently pleaded Kami for at least a few minutes of precious sleep, but with every passing moment his hopes dwindled.

A yawn from somewhere at his feet made him twitch, only looking away from the ceiling to see Naruto awakening, sitting up with a stretch.

"G'mornin', Sasuke," he mumbled, rubbing the tears away after he yawned again. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"

He stayed silent, holding his tongue.

Naruto frowned, leaning over. "Sasuke? Dude, you awake?"

Slowly, the prince turned his head to give the blond a deadpan stare. "_No_, Naruto, I died somewhere between midnight and three with my eyes open and I _still _somehow have a heartbeat."

His friend winced a little. "Geez, what bit you in the ass?"

"My thoughts," he retorted, choosing to ignore the insult as he closed his eyes. "I didn't sleep a wink."

Naruto pressed a hand to the prince's forehead, waiting for a moment. The prince opened his eyes to frown in confusion at him, and he clucked his tongue and pulled his hand away a second later.

"You feel alright," he said, as if Sasuke hadn't just told him the reason he was awake. "You don't look so hot, though. Get enough sleep?"

The prince, in his drowsy haze, merely blinked.

Naruto folded his arms, giving him a look that said 'I'm waiting'.

Finally, the prince rolled his eyes, sitting up in his bed. "I swear to you, Naruto, that you would struggle to pour water out of a boot with the instructions on the heel."

The blond scratched his head, scrunching up his nose. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing." He was waved away. "What am I to do today?"

"Well, if I can remember..." Naruto tapped his finger to his chin before consulting the book at the end of the nightstand. "Always good to look. Um, looks like you have a lesson from your father this morning and another meeting with a couple of foreign noblewomen in the afternoon, right before tea."

Sasuke groaned, flinging himself backwards onto his pillow. "If you weren't my personal servant, I'd ask you to kill me."

"Just because I'm your friend doesn't mean I don't have the urge to murder you sometimes," Naruto reminded with a huff as he snapped the book shut. The sound it made made Sasuke jump, and he looked up at Naruto with a glare.

"Don't look at me like that, teme." He rolled his eyes, grabbing the prince by the shoulders and trying to yank him out of bed. "C'mon, get up- geez, what do you weigh? I'd be jealous if you weren't so heavy- we need to get you dressed for breakfast."

* * *

Itachi awoke silently, sitting up in his bedroll as he stretched. The cool morning air was just enough to make him want to retreat into his bed again, but he had a mission to do.

He glanced over at his partner, the enormous fish of a man Kisame, and pulled on a coat. It looked like he was the one stuck with breakfast again.

_Rule one of being a soldier_, he recited to himself, _always be prepared for any contingency._

He slipped on his sandals and crept out of the tent, the full force of the cold smacking him in the face. He rubbed his cheeks a little to warm them up and then got to work.

He pulled out a small cast-iron pot and lid and some firewood and got to work. He arranged the firewood in the little firepit they'd dug the night before. Looking around, he brought his hands together and gently blew a stream of fire to the pit, and the wood caught it.

A tiny smile came to his face at the sight. Even if it forever linked him with his cursed family, his element comforted him. They could take just about anything from him, but as long as he had fire, he had hope. Its flames were a comforting hug, like the ones his mother used to give.

He set up an iron 'stovetop' above the flames and stood up, pot in hand. He headed for the nearby river, only filling the pot halfway. He came back to see Kisame coming out of the tent, fully dressed and rubbing his eye.

"Morning, Itachi-san," he greeted with that feral-looking grin. "Same breakfast as usual?"

Wordlessly, the noiret nodded. He put the lid on and set the pot on the 'oventop', going to grab the box of rice from his pack in the tent.

...

A little while later, the two - well, mostly Kisame - were engaged in pleasant conversation beside the little fire. The rice was boiling steadily, providing a little bit of background noise.

"Y'know, I've had something on my mind for a while." Kisame said as he lifted the lid to see its contents. "You've been in the resistance for a while, yet you haven't said more than a word about why."

Itachi sat still in his spot, the unasked question coming forth in his mind.

Kisame set the lid back on the pot and turned to look at his young partner. "Why'd you leave? Konoha, I mean. It seems rather strange trading such a cushy life for this one."

The noiret nodded, the movement so slight you almost couldn't see it. He watched the pot for a few moments.

Finally, due to Kisame's expectant stare, he spoke. "I left because I had nothing."

Kisame, slightly taken-aback, blinked. "What?"

'My past life." Itachi gestured with his eyes towards the east. "I was nothing but a pawn in someone else's game. A mere black knight."

The blue-skinned man still looked puzzled.

Itachi sighed quietly. "I was never meant to be king. My father purposefully trained me to become a soldier in hopes that I would one day command his armies."

"But... but you were the firstborn, right?"

"Only that." His eyes grew cold as he remembered. "I was too weak. Too emotional. _He_ surmised that I would never make a good king - and perhaps correctly so."

Kisame scratched the back of his head. "Damn, man. That's awful; I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Itachi waved off the question, taking a mitt in his hand to take off the lid. "In any event, the only one we have to fear now... is Sasuke."

* * *

Sasuke barely managed to stifle a yawn as his father went on about different techniques.

'- and that creates..." Fugaku quickly went through the handsigns and blew, a sizely fireball escaping from his throat to incinerate the target.

"Well done, father." Sasuke monotonously praised.

Fugaku rose an eyebrow at his youngest. "Haven't you been listening to me?"

"Of course." The boy stretched, mimicking the symbols, only to release his own. His fireball, while significantly smaller, still hit the target dead-on, making the wood burst into flames.

His father smiled proudly. "It needs work, but it's a testament to your proud heritage."

Sasuke shrugged, aloof. _Meh, that's the closest to praise that I'll get from him._

"You're restless, aren't you?" He asked rhetorically. Placing a hand on his son's shoulder, he steered them towards the garden door. "Why don't you clean up and get ready for your future bride?"

"_Perhaps_ future bride, Father," he corrected, a hint of ice in his voice.

"Of course, of course." The brunet nodded. "You don't even know her yet. Well, after today, you will."

He let go, watching his son saunter down the hallway, arms folded.

His eyes crinkled into a smile for a moment, but it faded as he thought of the future.

"I must get him a bride," he murmured to himself, gazing out of one of the large floor-to-ceiling windows at the sky. The color was darkening, periwinkle to a lovely azure. "If he's to become king on his twentieth birthday, it must be done."

* * *

Sasuke flopped onto his bed, his hair still damp from his bath.

Naruto looked up from his book. "What's wrong with _you_?"

"I don't want to meet her," the prince groaned into his pillow. "She'll be obsessed with me, just like the others before her."

"Don't be such a Negative Nancy, geez." Naruto rolled his eyes and shut his book, sitting up. "You don't even know her yet. Would it kill you to be a little optimistic?"

He shifted, looking up from the cloth with a deadpan stare.

"Fine," he replied, flicking a piece of bark off of his comforter with his fingers, "I'm optimistic that this one will turn out to be a total s-"

"Okay, okay, fine!" Naruto interrupted loudly.

"- Okay, one, don't interrupt me." Sasuke glared at his friend. "Two, I was going to say snob."

Naruto just sighed as the prince hid his face in the pillow again.

* * *

**A/N: And thus ends this Uchiha-filled chapter.**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Whoa, almost forgot to post today. Sorry! The first of several times you'll see the codenames in action! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 6: On the Move_

* * *

Noh yawned, cracking her back as she stepped out of the trees.

Temari winced from behind her. "How the heck can you stand to do that?"

"It's a bad habit, yes, but it's satisfying." The brunette responded with a smile. "Anyways, we've done our session, and now we need to start packing again."

"Aw, really?" The girl sighed, looking longingly at one of the lunch packs still beside the firepit.

Noh caught her gaze and nodded. "Go ahead and eat. I'll take care of the rest."

Temari gave her a grateful look, heading for the pit.

Noh looked around, squinting at the skyline.

"Aha, there it is." She murmured, seeing a far-off billow of smoke in-between the trees. "They're catching up faster than I'd like."

She turned to see Temari eating a loaf of bread with some cheese and meat stuffed into it.

_Kami, this is the third time in two weeks_, she sighed to herself. She shook her head. "No. I mustn't bring her into this. We have to run."

Quickly, she drenched the still-smoldering embers with water, taking a stick and spreading it around.

Temari looked up. "Are they coming?"

Noh paused for a second before nodding. "Yes. We need to hurry."

The young woman swore quietly, stuffing the last of her makeshift sandwich in her mouth before standing, brushing off the crumbs. She gathered both of their packs, waiting for the medic to finish masking their campsite.

"Ready?" She asked, handing the pack to her.

"Yes. Let's go."

* * *

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she heard hoofbeats.

"Iris," she called quietly in warning.

"Already ahead of you." The blonde woman nodded, leading the group deeper into the trees.

Hinata covered her mouth in fear, and Karin gently placed a hand on her wrist.

"C'mon," she said lowly, handing her a cloak.

"But... but your back..."

"Leave it." Karin ignored the twigs brushing against the back of her shirt. "Just put it on."

Reluctantly, the young woman took it, wrapping it around herself. It was warm, even in the summer sun. It smelled vaguely of some kind of medicine, and she stared guiltily at Karin every time the hem of her shirt revealed a bit of her still-tender back.

The group stilled in a clump of trees where the grass grew thick and tall, waiting for the soldiers to pass them by.

Sure enough, the hoofbeats grew louder and louder as the king's soldiers rode past, looking regal in their crimson garb and silvery armor. Their horses looked well-kept, too, with armor pieces that gleamed in the sun and full manes and tails.

Sakura peeked over the top of a tree to see the last of the soldiers go by.

She nodded to Tsunade, who instructed the group to lay low and follow her through the brush.

They traveled about a mile this way, stopping whenever they heard someone coming. Finally, after about an hour, they came across a clearing with tents and a firepit.

Tsunade looked alarmed. "Turn to the left," she hissed in a low whisper. "Soldiers."

The group nodded, and they cut sharply to the left of their original path.

Sakura couldn't help but stay farther behind to listen to two men who'd stopped by the trees to get some water and chat.

"Man, I'm getting kinda tired of chasing them," one was saying. He had brown hair and unnervingly-wide black eyes. The standard Konoha military headband (with the kingdom's symbol of course) was strapped tightly to his forehead. "I mean, we don't even have any good leads. For all we know, they've already gotten to the border or something."

"They wouldn't dare go out of the country with no identification," another remarked, almost boredly. His unruly silver hair stuck up in almost gravity-defying spikes. His headband slanted to cover his left eye, while his other one was the same black as the first one. "Well, it would be unwise to leave the country anyway. Our officers would catch them before they even stepped a foot outside."

"I- I guess you're right," the first one laughed a bit sheepishly, taking another sip of water.

The second one watched the treeline, eye narrowed.

Sakura froze, ducking down slowly. _"Dammit! Did he see me?"_

The second one didn't move until the first put a hand on his shoulder. "Kakashi-senpai? You okay?"

"Just fine," was the reply as he gulped down his water. "Just... wary."

"I highly doubt that Riot members would be around here," Yamato chuckled, refilling his cup.

Kakashi slowly lowered the cup from his lips, giving him a deadpan stare. "Need I remind you that the prince's bride-to-be is _missing_?"

The man quieted, cowed by the man's point.

"We have to be on high alert everywhere," he continued, sharp eye scanning the area. "We mustn't leave one stone unturned in case the wretched snakes are embedded between the rocks, ready to strike. If we don't kill them, they will undoubtedly kill us first."

Yamato nodded, sparing a glance towards their temporary rest stop. "We'd probably get back to the others... I think the horses have rested."

"Yes."

At once, both of them began walking back to the other riders, and Sakura slowly slunk away into the shadows of the trees.

"Violet, what were you doing?" Noh gently chided, taking her arm and guiding her through the woods. "Iris-sama was getting worried about you. She thought you'd been captured!"

"Sorry, sorry, I was... eavesdropping." She gave an apologetic grimace. "The Uchihas have their soldiers on high alert for us. It won't be easy for us to slip away."

"Yes, I understand, but... please, let one of us know when you stay behind next time." Noh nodded to her, finally catching up with the rest of the group.

The medic gave Tsunade a look, and the woman simply clucked her tongue, bringing Sakura into her arms for a tight embrace.

"Did you at least find out anything significant?" Temari asked dryly.

Sakura gave her a half-hearted glare and a harder-than-usual nudge with an elbow. "Actually, I found out that the king has sent his troops to be on high alert. All borders of Fire are most likely crawling with them. There's... essentially no out of the country."

She sent a sympathetic glance to Temari as she spoke. "That means... there's no easy way to get you home. I'm sorry."

There was a moment of silence in the group. A few people turned to look at Temari with bated breath, quietly anticipating some kind of reaction.

Temari herself looked deep in thought for a minute, as if the news had somehow numbed something in her brain that she couldn't seem to grasp.

Tsunade sighed deeply, resting a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Geranium, please, don't take it too hard. We want to get you home, we really do. But... this wouldn't be the right time. And if you weren't already ready to return, well..."

Temari suddenly snorted, folding her arms across her chest. "Did you think that I'd have been ready to border-jump to Suna anyway? I wanna drag those tyrants down whether I die trying or not. I'm staying."

The group was caught off-guard, but a grin spread across Sakura's face, and she reached up and waited for Temari to clasp her hand in hers, squeezing tightly for a second before letting go. For a moment, the pinkette was reminded of beaming cerulean eyes and a wide, boyish smile before she let go.

"That's what I was hoping to hear," she replied. With a fierce determination, she pointed deeper into the woods. "Now let's move on. We have to be at the rendezvous point before dark."

* * *

**A/N: In case it wasn't that obvious:**

**Iris - Tsunade**

**Violet - Sakura**

**Geranium - Temari**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: OOF, this chapter is super angsty! Also, the mother fuckload of backstory! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 7: Echoes of the Past_

* * *

_Where am I?_

The darkness all around him was enough to obscure his hands in front of his face for a few moments.

Then suddenly, his surroundings burst into light, and he was able to see where he was.

_Wait...?_

He blinked, seeing the familiar walls of the castle. This room in particular he recognized faintly, though it'd been a long time since he'd seen his grandmother's antique curtains adorning the floor-length windows on three sides of the room.

"What...?" He asked himself. "I don't remember this area looking like this for years."

_Grandmother's curtains... they were lost when Itachi left._

He heard a faint giggling coming from the hallway, and he turned to face the door.

To his horror, the door was bigger than he'd remembered.

"Oh no," he muttered upon looking down. "What is this?"

He was in the body of his seven-year-old self, someone whispered into his mind.

_Before Itachi left..._

He heard the laughter again, and this time he exited the drawing room he was in.

When he looked around, he saw something faintly blond running through the hall, following something white.

"Wait!" He called, racing after the mysterious person.

He followed them through the castle, frustrated that his legs just weren't going as fast as he wanted.

They always seemed to pull ahead, and meanwhile, it felt like he was trying to run through waist-high water.

"Wait!" He yelled again, thrusting his arms towards them as if it would help him go faster.

After a horrifically long time of chasing them, they finally came to a stop outside, where the back gardens were located.

As he slammed the doors shut behind himself, he caught a better look at who he'd been chasing.

His breath was caught in his throat when he saw a younger version of Naruto, grinning like the sun, sitting in the grass with a girl with awfully-familiar strawberry-blonde hair.

"You're so funny, Naruto-kun!" She giggled, playfully nudging him away with her knee.

"Ahaha, really?" He blushed pink, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm glad you think so!"

_That girl._

Sasuke's eyes widened, and he walked forward, resting a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around and smiled at him, her eyes glittering like precious, deep-green gemstones.

"Sasuke-kun!" She cheered, throwing her arms around his legs. "C'mon, sit, sit! You have to hear Naruto-kun's joke!"

"I got it from 'kaa-san!" He declared proudly, slapping the grass beside him.

He blinked, tears filling his eyes against his will. _Dammit, stop crying...! Not in front of her!_

Her face kept its smile, almost as if she were frozen in time. Both of them were frozen, like some benevolent force had hit the pause button.

He clenched his teeth and sank to the ground in front of her, his head bowed so that she couldn't see his eyes.

"Sasuke-kun?" She asked, setting a gentle hand on his cheek. "Are you okay?"

"What's wrong? Did 'tachi blow you off again?" Naruto cracked his knuckles, glaring. "If he did, lemme know so I can beat 'im up for you!"

"Sa- Sakura," he wept, feeling like the scared eight-year-old he once was. He gripped the front of her dress, though he hardly felt the material clenched in his tiny fingers.

"Sasuke-kun, it's okay!" Her voice sounded distorted, almost as if he was floating in the water... just like... "Don't cry anymore! We'll be together again soon. I promised Naruto!"

"That's right!" His best friend laughed in that boisterous way of his again, his face shifting from his innocent seven-year-old's to his handsome eighteen-year-old's rapidly, as if the sun itself was flickering in and out above them. "You don't want 'tachi seeing you cry, do you? C'mon, get over it! Sakura-chan wouldn't leave us like that!"

"I won't!" She firmly decided, lifting his chin with her petite, pale hands.

Instead of seeing her face clearly, it was distorted, waving in and out. Her hair, long enough to drag the ground, wavered as if blown about by a breeze... but it was dripping with water, discolored a sickening red in several places.

"Sakura, why did you leave me?" He cried, glaring at her with all that he had. "Why did you leave me?"

Naruto's face grew serious, and he put his hand firmly on Sasuke's shoulder. He didn't look seven anymore...

Their bodies began to shift, and Sasuke hardly noticed when his voice grew deeper, his hands grew bigger, or when Sakura's body began to almost melt, and he hardly recognized her when he looked up again.

Her body was distorted, her face blotted out of his sight. It was like a malevolent force had decided to hide her for its own sick amusement.

"Sakura! SAKURA!" He screamed at her, shaking her back and forth. "Come back! Don't leave!"

"-as-e-" her voice, even, didn't seem to register. Instead, she had what sounded like a thousand different voices, male and female. Her skin grew damp and clammy to the touch. "-Sa-"

"Sasuke." Naruto spoke, gripping his shoulder.

Sasuke didn't notice, too busy sobbing into what felt like 'Sakura'.

"Sasuke." Naruto spoke again, shaking him firmly.

"Sakura!" Sasuke grew angrier as he choked out her name. "Why did you let them kill you?! WHY WOULD YOU BETRAY ME?!"

"SASUKE!" Naruto suddenly roared, standing up and shoving him to the ground.

* * *

The breath was knocked out of him as his eyes snapped open.

Naruto was standing above him, looking both worried and angry.

"Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?" He asked the prince, kneeling beside him. "You okay? Geez, didn't think I'd pushed you that hard."

"What happened?" Sasuke gasped out, clutching his ribs. "Damn you, idiot, why'd you shove me off the bed?"

"You fell asleep after meeting with the girls," Naruto explained as he helped him sit up on the floor. "I left the room for five minutes, and I suddenly come back to you screaming in your sleep."

_I... I was?_

Then fingers brushed against his cheeks. Naruto was holding out a handkerchief emblazoned with the Uchiha crest.

Sasuke felt his own cheek and frowned. "Was I crying?"

"You were hysterical, man." Naruto nodded solemnly. "What in the hell were you dreaming about? Hinata?"

Dazedly, he grabbed the handkerchief and shook his head. He dabbed at his eyes before blowing his nose.

"No, it was- something different." He almost wanted to break down and tell him everything, but he held his tongue.

_She died years ago. There's no way that she's still alive... especially after what I saw. _He thought determinedly to himself. _No matter how much I dream about her, she's not coming back._

* * *

Sakura sneezed, wrapping her cloak closer around her body.

"Bless you," Tsunade said with a chuckle. "You sure you're not catching a cold?"

"I-I'm fine," she insisted. "It_ is _a little cold, though."

Hinata shifted in her spot, staring at the flames in front of her. The cloak felt heavy on her shoulders. She glanced over to Karin, who was getting more ointment massaged into her back. Her shirt was off, leaving her naked from the waist up. Luckily, the male soldiers with them were elsewhere, having been shooed away so that Karin could get treated, but it was still uncomfortable knowing that they could pop back in at any moment.

She sighed quietly. The sun had set already, and the sky was growing darker by the minute. Soon, they'd have to extinguish the fire and head off to bed.

She fingered her long midnight-black tresses, thinking back to Konoha. How was her family doing?

_How has Hanabi held up? _She wondered. Her beloved younger sister, so full of energy and devotion... Upon hearing the news of her untimely 'demise', she must've been so heartbroken.

It was customary for women in mourning, though mostly widows in mourning, to cut off their long hair and wear it short for as long as the mourning period was. For women whose husbands had died, they usually left their hair short for months, or until a new match was made.

For women in disgrace, however, their hair would usually be cut for months to years. It depended upon how long it took for their family to accept them again, though unfortunately, for most disgraced women, that never happened. Many of them committed 'honor suicide' before ever growing their hair back.

Hinata shivered. As much as she knew that, if her family ever found out the real reason she'd fled, that it would take them much longer to forgive her, if ever, she hardly saw suicide as a viable option. If she was to ever rebuild her life, she needed to keep it intact.

"What'cha thinking about, Hinata?" Sakura asked her, scooting over to where she was.

"E-eh? Oh, um," she looked down with a small frown. "Just... thinking about my family, I suppose."

Sakura nodded solemnly. "Yeah... gets real depressing real quick, doesn't it?"

"Heavily." She agreed. "I can't bear the thought of what my sister must be going through."

Sakura kept silent as the flames crackled.

"I've been thinking..." The lady suddenly continued, catching the pinkette's attention again, "... it is customary for disgraced young women to cut their hair, right?"

"Sure, of course." Sakura nodded. Then she paused. "Wait, are you saying...?"

"I wish to cut my hair short," Hinata spoke up so that Tsunade could hear. "Both to atone for my disgrace, and to better disguise myself."

Tsunade frowned, holding her chin with one hand. "Hmm... that would definitely work, but... are you sure?"

"I'm quite sure," Hinata replied, firm in her decision. "I would be more recognizable with my hair the way it is. Besides, in my family, we are taught to honor tradition and family ties above all else."

Sakura nodded, gently taking a lock of navy-black hair and studying it. "I think I could help you," she finally chimed in. "I went through that phase myself some years ago."

"You as well?" She looked stunned. "But- but you-?"

"I ran away too, y'know." Sakura laughed, letting go of Hinata's hair to stroke her own tresses. "What, do I look _that_ much like Tsunade?"

The girl didn't answer right away, but her embarrassed blush gave her thoughts away.

Sakura chuckled once more, patting her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I get that a lot with newer recruits. I guess you take after who you aspire to be, right?"

"I was only thirteen," she continued, hands falling into her lap as she stared at the ground. "My family was rather well-off when I was really young, but we became poorer as I grew up because of what the Uchihas have done. Somehow, though, I always thought it would get better."

She snorted. "I actually had dreams once of marrying the prince, as if that would solve all my problems. I heard that he loved long hair, so I grew mine out. I heard that he loved petite girls, so I tried my best to diet when we actually had food... but what I didn't think about was that I was slowly killing myself. I wasn't getting the nutrients I needed from food, and all I did was worry my parents with my habits.

"Finally, when I was nine, I was with my cousins in town. One of them... she said something- I don't remember what, exactly- but I know it was severely critical of the royal family. What I didn't know at the time was that the king has spies stationed around just about every village in the kingdom, waiting for people to start criticizing him openly."

Hinata got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she covered her mouth with her hands when Sakura grit her teeth. "_No_... you mean..."

Sakura turned to stare her right in the eye, a burning sadness flickering like flames in her eyes. "They killed my dearest cousin. Right in front of me. She was going to get married the last of April... and they just- they just struck her down. My father used to work for the king once upon a time ago, and her side of the family was well-off, too. Her father was one of the king's advisors." She paused here to let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Guess _that_ didn't matter in the long run."

Tears began to bubble up into her eyes, but she forced her emotions down. "They threatened to murder my entire family if anyone dared speak like that again. They were going to kill my other cousins, but at the last second, they denied ever knowing her. I was forced to deny my closest friend in the world. She just... she just looked so desolate."

She glared at the ground, her hands clenched tight. "To watch helplessly as the family member you loved most just... just die like a mutt in the street... To be pushed away from her by your own family so that you won't be associated with her and die too..."

Tsunade frowned, wrapping an arm around her.

"My dreams were crushed. I no longer daydreamed about being a princess, nor about marrying the prince." She wiped at her eyes, letting out a shaky breath. "The knowledge that, no matter who you were, the king would not hesitate to kill you... it killed me. I had to get out of Konoha or die trying."

She looked up at Tsunade, giving her a tiny smile. "It was on one of my father's trips to the neighboring village of Morino a few years later that I met Tsunade. I was desperate... so I made a plan with her. Riot had gotten intel that the king was going to visit the town in the next week with his sons. In order to escape, I would allow Riot to take me away and 'kill' me. My family couldn't know what I was doing, in case word ever got out that I was alive and a rebel."

Hinata's eyes widened. "So... so that attack in which the king nearly died..."

Sakura nodded. "That was partly because of me. I helped her plan."

Tsunade sighed. "I lost too many soldiers in that fight, but... what we lost in numbers, we gained in hope. We nearly kidnapped the prince, but _someone_ begged me not to."

Sakura grinned weakly. "I didn't want to subject him to the Council, that's all. That, and if he somehow found out about me, then my family would die. And... I suppose I still cared for him, in a way I can't possibly explain."

Hinata nodded slowly. "I see... And after this, you joined Riot?"

"Yes." Sakura agreed. "In order to save my identity, I cut my hair only above my shoulders. Luckily, my hair turned pink like my father's after I defected and actually started eating again, so as far as anyone else knew, I was a strawberry-blonde girl when I 'died'."

"It's a good thing, too, because had I not met Tsunade when I did, I probably would've died from malnourishment." Sakura wrapped an arm around her stomach and grimaced. "I quit my feeble attempts at 'dieting' a little after my cousin died. Then, either I wasn't eating much out of depression, or something was happening that made it harder for my father to get us food. I remember that my mom found out that she was pregnant when I was twelve, so I was giving her most of my rations so that she would be healthy. My mom was told that she was barren when she was first married to my father, so having two children was nothing short of a miracle, especially thirteen years apart."

She looked away, and Tsunade wrapped her arms tighter around her.

"My mom... she ended up losing the baby anyway." She closed her eyes tightly. "Even though it was from other issues, I blamed myself for the longest time. I kept thinking that, maybe, if I'd given her more of my food, then maybe my baby sibling would've survived."

"I guess that was one of the other big reasons that I left," she chuckled humorlessly. "I thought that maybe, if my family didn't have to look after a growing teenager while trying to manage both themselves and an unborn baby, then maybe next time, they wouldn't have to worry about more food."

Noh came over to the campfire, a bright smile on her face. "Ooh, are we telling stories of the past, now?"

Tsunade looked up with a small smile. "Sakura was telling us about her past."

"Oh. What part did you get to?" Instantly, Noh sobered and took a seat beside them.

"The part where I ran away," the girl replied.

"Ah, yes, yes." The woman nodded. "You were so scrawny, you were practically just bones! I remember that even when I was still healing from a previous ailment, I could lift you just fine."

Hinata looked up at her. "Really?"

"Yep." Noh continued, "When she told me about her family situation, I immediately felt like I had to do something."

She turned to Sakura, "Your mother's miscarriage broke my heart."

Sakura looked down again.

"I was actually... pregnant, myself, when I met Sakura." Noh bit her lip. "After my husband died, I realized that I was expecting. Of course, one can't care for a baby that well while on the run, so I decided to give him or her to a loving family.

"I actually ran into Sakura's parents accidentally when I was trying to find supplies to stem my bleeding," she recalled. "I'd just had the baby and my bleeding wasn't going to stop any time soon. Her mother graciously lent me a towel, and when I explained my situation, we came to a decision for them to take my baby."

"To this day, I'm not sure whether my father was delirious or just crazy," Sakura muttered.

Noh smiled. "They seemed happy enough when I gave him to them. I did request that when he became of age, that I could see him again."

"Your pasts are... incredibly action-filled." Hinata looked down. "It fills me with shame to say that my own is... dull."

"Nonsense! Are you crazy?" Sakura gasped, taking her hands in hers. "You grew up as a noblelady! How cool is_ that_? Surely you have at least one story of being rebellious and/or just causing mischief!"

"How stuffy has ol' Hiashi gotten since I've last seen him? I was once considered for the wife of one in the main branch, you know. Well, for a little while, anyway, so let's say he and I have some history together." Noh giggled. "Does he still get super red if you mention certain things about being a woman around him? Oh, and does he lose composure and just start stuttering when you manage to match comebacks with him?"

Hinata blinked. Then, slowly, a smile spread across her face.

"Well," she admitted with a giggle, "I guess I do have a few stories of Hanabi and how troublesome she used to be with Father. The poor girl drove him absolutely nuts when we were children."

* * *

**A/N: ****Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here's the next one. More angst!**

* * *

_Chapter 8: The Sleepless_

* * *

The morning dawned quickly. Having spent most of the night talking, Sasuke struggled to wake up to Naruto lightly shaking him.

"C'mon, Sasuke, you gotta get up." Naruto sighed harshly. "You promised the queen that you'd join her for breakfast."

"Doesn't mean I don't regret it today," he mumbled into his pillow. With a sigh, he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

Naruto winced when he saw the dark bags under his eyes. "Geez, you look wiped. Besides last night, how much sleep are you getting?"

"Not enough," he grumbled as he climbed out of bed. He went to his wardrobe, trying to pick clothes for the day.

Naruto sighed, sitting on his bed. "... It's about her, isn't it?"

Sasuke's hands stilled over the fabric for a moment. "I don't know which 'her' you speak of."

"Don't play dumb, we both know which 'her' I'm talking about." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Dude! I mean, it's not like you and I were friends with her for years, or anything."

"Of course I'd remember her." He snapped back, grabbing a hairbrush while glaring at Naruto in the mirror.

"Although," Naruto continued thoughtfully, "I haven't heard you scream that loudly since Castle Point. It really was that incident, wasn't it?"

"I didn't see it again, if that's what you're asking." Sasuke determinedly stared at himself in the mirror, avoiding Naruto's eyes.

"I never said you watched her _die_," Naruto sniffed.

Sasuke stopped, his fingers clenching tightly around the brush's handle. He turned and glared at Naruto.

"... Sorry." The blond averted his gaze. "I guess that is still a sensitive topic."

_You're damn right, _he thought irritatedly. He began to brush through his hair again, with more force than necessary. _It's not something you ever just get over._

No matter how hard he tried, even six years later, he could still see her floating... totally still, pale, her hair stained red.

He was doing better, though. He wasn't having as many nightmares about that day so many years later. But when Hinata was supposedly killed, the images had come back full-force, along with others.

_Damn Riot... _he stared himself in the mirror fiercely, resisting the urge to smash the glass. They'd begun taking everyone he'd ever loved. Were they not satisfied with taking away his brother? Were they not satisfied taking away girls that he'd considered worthy enough to help him rule?

Although he couldn't really voice his thoughts out loud... he glanced back at Naruto, who was still frowning solemnly at the ground. After the loss of his parents, death of loved ones was a trigger for him; and Sakura was a _loved_ one. When Sakura had died, he'd become almost catatonic, and he'd refused to properly eat for days, for _weeks_ even.

He didn't want to trigger that regression, even if Naruto hadn't had the same relationship with her that he had... if he ever actually had a _proper_ one.

With a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair and turned to face his friend.

"Hey."

Naruto looked up, his eyes suspiciously shiny.

Sasuke's eyes softened a little bit, but he beckoned for the blond to follow him. "C'mon, stop crying. Mother told the chefs to make honey toast again."

Naruto wiped his eyes on his sleeves, giving him a shaky grin. "I love honey toast... she won't mind if I join you for breakfast, right?"

Sasuke gave him a strange look. "It's my _mother_. You know how much she likes you."

"Just checkin' to make sure it's nothing private that I'm intruding on," the boy chuckled, slapping his friend on the back.

* * *

Itachi gazed up at the ceiling of the tent with glazed, tired eyes.

Kisame had gone out earlier to fetch some fresh fish from a lake nearby. He'd convinced the young Uchiha to stay behind in the tent to catch up on some sleep, but unfortunately, the man didn't sleep easily.

He turned over on his sleeping bag, gently taking a necklace in his hands. A necklace given to him by his mother, the afternoon before he left.

"No matter what your lot in life," she'd whispered to him with a smile, pressing the metal necklace in his hands, "always know that your mother loves and supports you most of all."

He'd once been told that it was passed down from mother, to son, to bride, and to son once more in a cycle of good luck. His mother had told his brother and him stories upon stories of how the necklace had protected their ancestors from disaster upon disaster. While Sasuke was more interested in the fighting, Itachi had always been fascinated about the jewelry's properties.

Now, as he thought back to the night he escaped, he actually counted himself lucky that he'd made it this far. He'd only been a mere teenage boy back then; his father could have stopped him easily, especially with _him _at their side. But luckily, he'd been spared, and he became a fugitive.

He'd nearly been captured many times by their own soldiers before, but by some scope of luck, he'd escaped every time.

He let go and allowed the cool metal to fall to his skin and got up, guessing that Kisame would be back soon.

He dressed quickly and tidied his area, rolling up his bed. When he walked out, he was stricken by the sun for a moment before standing next to the firepit.

Kisame came back a couple of minutes later, toting a couple of good-sized fish. He grinned at his partner. "Hey, g'morning! You made that fire just in time."

Itachi's lips turned upwards a little in greeting, tilting his head. He took one of the fish and pulled out some knives - one for Kisame and one for him.

Working quickly, they both descaled and deboned the fish. They stood side-by-side, roasting them on sharpened branches.

"You have an okay night last night?" Kisame asked, sending him a sidelong glance. "You were muttering in your sleep."

Itachi's frown deepened and he sighed, "I'm afraid I had a nightmare again."

"Was it-"

"Yes, it was." The noiret nodded curtly. _No matter what, I can't get that scene out of my mind._

Kisame sighed overdramatically, gently slapping his back. "Hey, don't let it get'cha down, okay? It's good that you came to me about it this time."

At the pointed glare he was given, the Uchiha turned away, skillfully ignoring it.

He always saw the blood. It stained the corners of his vision, tainted his eye, and kept him awake when least convenient. The horror he'd had the misfortune to be shown never seemed to adhere to his desperate wants for it to disappear.

Of course, their entire family was cursed with eyes of scarlet blood. Itachi was, unfortunately, not an exception. Forever doomed to lay awake at night, haunted by their worst fears in bonechilling virtual reality...

His moments asleep were sometimes tainted with the memories of what he'd witnessed that day at Castle Point, something that, of course, even haunted his father and brother. Unlike them, though, he still felt 'weak enough' to reach out for help.

_Something that no doubt sealed my fate concerning the kingdom, _he thought bitterly. His father's words of long ago echoed in his mind: "Uchiha men do not show weakness, Itachi. Uchiha men are made of the internal flame of power that created our kingdom."

* * *

"Are we all here?" Tsunade asked, doing a double-check. "Everyone packed?"

Sakura adjusted the pack on her back and glanced back towards the crowd. "I think everyone's here, more or less."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed for a moment. "Wait. We're missing someone."

She made her way through the crowd and lingered at a certain spot, staring at it in thought.

Finally, she nodded, turned back around, and called out, "Anyone know where Shinji is?"

The squadron of rebel soldiers glanced around at each other, confused.

"Shinji?" The leader asked nervously. "I don't have anyone with that name in my ranks..."

Her blood began to go cold. "Shinji? As in, Takahashi Shinji? Been with us since the invasion? No one by that name?"

One by one, everyone shook their heads.

Sakura began to chuckle quietly. _Ah, the irony. How it hurts to be on this side of treachery._

Tsunade cussed under her breath. "So that's the explanation. We need to hurry out of here."

Noh caught on when she met Tsunade's eyes. She frowned, grabbing Hinata and Sakura. "Girls, come with me."

Sakura nodded, while the lady looked confused.

"Spy," Sakura breathed into her ear before tugging up her hood, grabbing her hand, and leading her away, half a squadron following.

Tsunade gazed hard at a young woman with beautiful, long black hair. The woman nodded, the movement so slight you could hardly see it. Karin took her hand gently, leading her closer. Grabbing under her knees, she swung them up and held her in a princess carry.

Together they disappeared into the brush along with the other half of the squadron.

...

...

...

... Out of the trees, a certain royal soldier with unnervingly-wide pitch-black eyes peeked through the trees, watching a certain hooded woman closely.

A hand rested on his shoulder and he nodded once, slightly.

"I've got her in my sights," he murmured lowly. "Ready the men. On my signal, we follow them."

_So the little chambermaid lives... this could prove to be more difficult than we first thought._

* * *

**A/N: Whoops! They've been had!**

**Dammit, this never would have happened if you'd gotten into the damn robot, Shinji. (jk, jk)**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys later!**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Holy chicken McNuggets, this is gonna have a lot of POV shifts. I hope you enjoy it, though!**

* * *

_Chapter 9: Hunted_

* * *

"Your highness," one of the pages came close to where she was sitting in the parlor with a scroll in his hands. "Pardon the intrusion, but this is from Hatake Kakashi of the 50th squadron."

"Ooh, good news, I hope?" She took it graciously and broke the seal, scanning through it. The more she read, the more her eyebrows dipped low.

Finally, when she'd re-rolled it, she turned her head to smile sweetly at the page.

The boy swallowed, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. _Whenever she smiles like that... s- someone gets sent to the medical bay...!_

"Dear page," she began, her voice unnervingly saccharine, "would you be a sweetheart and give this to the king?"

She pulled a lily-white envelope out of her pocket and handed it to him, her pointed fingernails digging into his hand hard enough to leave little white crescents.

He winced, but pulled back quickly, bowing. "Th- thank you, your highness. I'll deliver this at once."

"Thank you." For a moment, her smile was genuine - but in the next, her eyes were cold like snow as she stared into the fire. "Dismissed."

As he scurried out of the sitting room, she hummed in thought, the book she'd been reading clenched in her hands.

"How fortuitous, and yet..." she murmured, a worried frown creasing her brow. "... how unfortunate."

She exhaled heavily, leaning back against the chair. "Ah, how upset little Sasuke will be when he hears."

* * *

Sakura cussed quietly, hearing faint footsteps. "They're following us," she hissed to Noh.

The medic glanced back and nodded. "Come on, we have to keep moving. Eventually, they will tire and fall behind."

Hinata tried to resist the urge to look back as well, Sakura's hand in hers a reassurance greatly needed in that moment.

* * *

"They're catching up," Karin murmured hastily to Tsunade, holding the lady in her arms.

"Shit," she hissed under her breath. "C'mon, we need to turn direction. Sweep around and rejoin with Noh up ahead. We'll fake 'em out."

* * *

Shikamaru glanced up from his chair, frowning.

"Maru, what's wrong?" A girl with long blonde hair asked him, sensing his mood.

He shook his head slowly. "Ah... nothing. I just have a feeling that something bad is about to happen."

She squinted at him, suspicious, for a couple of seconds. Finally, she shrugged, brightening her smile. "Well, anyway, we need to hurry up and finish helping with the decorations! I know our parents have finished planning everything, but as long as we're here, I was hoping we could sneak in a couple of different bouquet combos. Whaddya think?"

She stepped out of the way, letting him get a good look of a simple bouquet of pale yellow roses and a couple of stalks of heather.

"You think they'd like it?" She asked, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

He sighed quietly, giving a lazy thumbs-up. "Yeah, they're great..."

"Well geez, don't get so excited," she huffed. As she turned back to the flowers, though, she began to smile.

Shikamaru turned his gaze towards the front door of the flower shop, where he saw Tenten racing towards it, looking absolutely stricken. She opened the doors, panting, "Shikamaru! You're needed!"

He stood at once, walking over to place his hands on her shoulders. "Calm down. Is it urgent?"

"Uh, hello?" She rolled her eyes. "Would I be coming to find you if it wasn't? Now hurry up, or Lee's gonna spontaneously combust!"

Shikamaru turned back to glance at Ino, who was looking over in concern.

"You can handle the rest, right?" he called out to her. "I have something to take care of."

She sighed, but she gave him an unconvincing half-smile. "Go do what you need to do. I'll handle the rest of the flowers."

"Thanks, Ino." He flashed her a rare, genuine smile, just as Tenten grabbed him by the collar and practically dragged him out of the shop.

* * *

"Shit!" Sakura grabbed Hinata's hand tighter when a kunai suddenly stabbed into the tree trunk ahead of her. "Now they're drawing weapons?!"

"We need to hurry," Noh looked alarmed as she made a quick swerve left, deeper into the trees.

"V- Violet-san, my lungs are-" Hinata wheezed quietly, panicked. "I don't think I can run much longer...!"

"Don't worry, I'll help you with that," the pinkette flashed her a grin and suddenly swept her off of her feet and into a princess carry. "Just leave the work to me! Also, Kami what do you weigh? You're lighter than an owl feather!"

Hinata blushed at that, wrapping her arms around Sakura's neck firmly. "I- well, I was told to maintain a slim figure and a low weight as a high-born lady..."

"I can see," the girl replied, huffing out a laugh. "How much farther, Cypress?"

"Not very," was the medic's response. "They're no longer aiming for us, so I think we ought to make a right back onto the path we were on so that we don't lose our way."

"Sounds good to me!" She chuckled when Hinata let out a startled squeak when they jumped over a log. "Don't worry, your lady-ness, you're safe with me!"

* * *

"What's the meaning of this intrusion?" Sasuke asked irritably as the messenger came in to where he was bathing. Thankfully, the steam from the water hid him from the waist down, but he still folded his arms across his chest in an almost defensive manner.

"Forgive me, Crown Prince," the messenger bowed shakily. "But your mother has an urgent messenge that cannot be ignored."

"I'll take that, thank you," Naruto casually swooped in, taking the letter from the page's fingers. "You'd think she'd send for you to meet her in-person though, eh?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes with an irritated sigh. "If you don't have anything further, you're dismissed."

Once again the boy bowed, backing out of the bathing room at incredible speed for someone shuffling backwards.

Naruto snorted once the boy was out of sight. "Geez. Those servants never really turn their backs to you. It's almost as if they think you're gonna blow fire at them the second they look away or something!"

"Well, on one occasion, it has happened before." The prince admitted with a frown. "Though it wasn't my brother or I. It happened a long, long time ago, by my great-grand-uncle."

Naruto hummed in response, already slicing open the envelope with a blade. "Ooo-kay, looky here!" When he slipped out the paper, he smiled at her graceful handwriting. "Have I ever told you that your mom has the best handwriting in the entire kingdom?"

"Yes." Sasuke deadpanned, leaning over the tub. "Several times. Just read it, idiot."

"Fine, fine," the blond huffed. He cleared his throat and began reading aloud: "Dear Sasuke-kun, it has come to your father's and my attention that a little group of rebels still exists - well, no duh - and is actively plotting to dethrone the Uchiha family forever. - Again, no duh."

"Stop stalling and read," Sasuke snapped.

"Alright, alright, geez!" Naruto groaned. "Anyway, - we have come across some startling news from one of our spies that the handmaiden Karin still lives - and that your bride may live also."

Sasuke's breath hitched.

"_Furthermore_," Naruto continued to read, "It seems that your great-grandfather's rival's granddaughter, Senju Tsunade, is still alive and is actively spearheading this rebel group. You will hereby be dismissed from your training and will be a part of leading our armies in the act of destroying that organization once and for all. Tomorrow morning you are to report to your father and receive your instructions. For now, get a good night's rest. Love, your mother."

Naruto pulled back from the letter and whistled. "Damn, sounds like you're gonna have your hands full from here on out! And what is this? 'Great-grandfather's rival's-' geez, sounds like some kinda convoluted movie plot parodying a well-known science-fiction series involving twin siblings!"

Sasuke let out a shaky sigh. "But is it true, though? Does Lady Hyuuga still live?"

"Who knows," Naruto shrugged. "But if she is, do you really think that her family would allow her to marry you? I mean, faking your death is considered treason, or so I recall."

"But what if it wasn't faked?" Sasuke persisted, shaking his head. "The blast was specifically targeting her chambers. What if that damned group stole her away in order to recruit her to their side?"

"You've got a point, but either way, I don't think marrying her would be the best course of action anymore." Naruto pointed out. "Even you know that, deep down, don't you?"

"Do you take me for a common fool?" The prince snapped in frustration. He covered his face with his hands, leaning against the wall. "But if I don't end up marrying a Hyuuga, I have literally no one left. She was my last shot, since literally every other noble family either, A, has a daughter that's totally obsessed with me and the throne, B, has only sons, or C, has daughters that are too young to marry. Exhibit A, the Hyuuga family's main branch."

"Aw, c'mon, Sasuke," Naruto sighed. "There's gotta be someone out there. There's gotta be someone you haven't considered yet. Hell, would your father accept an arranged marriage between you and a commoner?"

"No, absolutely not," the prince was quick to refute. "He's obsessed with keeping our line 'clean', or so he likes to claim. If I came forward with just any common girl, he would rage at me for 'muddying the bloodline', or whatever."

Naruto leaned against the tub with a weary exhale. "Man, sometimes it's so hard to work for you."

Sasuke snorted. "I daresay it's harder to _be_ me than work for me, but as the commonfolk say, 'go off', I guess."

* * *

"Okay, so we've lost them," Sakura panted, exhausted, as she leaned against a tree.

Hinata was worriedly dabbing her forehead with a handkerchief and offering a drink of water, but the girl refused kindly.

Noh glanced up at the sky. "We'll have to be careful tonight. No doubt they'll be coming for us very soon."

"I'll have my men keep watch, milady Cypress," one of the captains offered.

She eyed him warily, but at last she sighed. "I'll allow you this once, but I'm warning you: if any more of your men reveal themselves to be spies for the Uchihas, so help me Kami I will castrate you with a chakra scalpel."

"Y- yes ma'am," he saluted jerkily before ushering his men away.

"That's one problem taken care of," Sakura snickered to herself. "So what now?"

"Now?" Noh turned to look straight into her eyes. "Now we have to focus on putting our Plan B into action."

"Wh- a- are you serious?" The pinkette, startled, sat up straighter. "Now? I thought we were saving that if-"

"If our situation became dire, yes." The woman interrupted. "This calls for that. We need to get you to Konoha as soon as possible."

"Wh- what's Plan B, if I may inquire?" Hinata asked in confusion, ceasing her fussing over the soldier.

Sakura snorted. "We planned to infiltrate the village with someone posing as a noblewoman - that would be me - in order to dismantle the Uchihas from the inside."

"But- how would that work?" Hinata asked. "I thought that the prince disliked every single suitor he's had thus far?"

"He does," Noh confirmed, a mischevious gleam in her eye. "But you've been forgetting one little detail."

Sakura reached into her jacket and gestured for the noblewoman to come closer. In the fading light of the evening, she discreetely showed her an ID card for one Hayashi Shien, a photo looking exactly like Sakura imprinted in the glossy item.

"I had someone pull some strings for me in order to create this," she winked. "Y'know, just in case."

"She'll infiltrate the most influential house in Konoha: the Yamanaka," Noh continued, eyes darting all around. "Nobody will be expecting a beautiful young girl with _short red hair _to be their downfall, would they?"

Just as Hinata was about to question, Sakura gently pressed a single finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. The girl nodded slightly and Sakura smirked.

"The best plan of all time," she boasted quietly, chuckling. "Absolutely foolproof."

When Hinata began to giggle with her, Noh glared into the trees, her brown eyes meeting a near-invisible black.

* * *

Tsunade stopped her band in a thick grove of trees. "This is it."

Karin gasped for air, gently placing the girl down near a tree. "Kami forbid I do that again," she panted. "You're so... heavy!"

The noirette glared up at her for a moment before breaking into silent giggles, giving her a shrug as if to say 'Sorry!'

"We'll have to be careful tonight," She instructed. "They're sure to still be hot on our trail, so just in case, we'll need to resort to Plan B."

Karin gasped sharply. "Plan B?! Tsu- I- I mean Iris-sama, I- I thought we-"

"This is the time to begin," she interrupted sternly. "Dammit... they really caught us off-guard with that plant. We can't be this careless in the future."

She glanced up at the sky. "We'll need to get to Konoha as soon as we possibly can if we're to get this thing started."

Karin collapsed on the ground, exhaling deeply. "Fiiiiine... whatever you want."

She pulled a couple of strands of her hair through her fingers. "I've gotta say, it's a good thing I chopped it recently... though this red definitely makes me a target."

Tsunade nodded. "Honestly. If I had more dye I could help you with it, but we don't need another incident."

"No, we definitely don't." The girl shivered. "I hate that I had to be on the receiving end of trying to wash that out. All I can say is that I'm glad it wasn't me."

"We'll go at dawn," the blonde continued, eyes scanning the trees. They narrowed when she caught something shifting in the rapidly-decreasing light. "For now, though, we must rest."

She turned to the soldiers. "Keep a strict watch. And Captain, if I even hear a word breathed to me about another spy being in your ranks, you'll be demoted so quickly you won't even see it coming."

He gulped, saluting. "Y- yes, ma'am. You heard her, men!"

As they made their exit, Tsunade glared into the near-invisible black eyes of something watching from a ways away.

* * *

**A/N: Black eyes, take warning... or something like that.**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter (for someone I've been dying to introduce since I began this fic! Woo! Reminds me of how fun it was to write in 2013).**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Don'tcha just love mistaken identity? Boy, I sure do! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 10: A New Ally_

* * *

As the night drew to a close, Sakura was awakened by Noh shuffling near her, calling out into the darkness. "Show yourself. You cannot hide any longer. I don't know how you managed to evade my men, but if you don't tell me who you are, then I will take my assistants away."

There came a couple of seconds of silence before they heard crunching footsteps and Noh gasped sharply.

Sakura opened her eyes, blinking blearily in the faint light from the moon. Turning her body, she squinted, trying to see who Noh had been talking to.

Then her eyes widened and she sat up. "No way...!"

"Jiraiya-sama," Noh stammered, bowing. "I- I'm so sorry! I had no idea..."

A tall, robust man with long white hair shushed her quietly. "It's okay, Cypress. It actually makes me happy that my absence has been widely ignored."

"What are you doing here now?" Sakura whispered, keeping an eye on the sleeping lady next to her. "And where's Tsu- Iris?"

"I've been trailing you ever since you left," he admitted. "Originally, you had quite the band of soldiers following you. Thankfully I managed to direct them away, but I don't doubt that they've caught on by now."

"We owe you our lives, Jiraiya-sama," Noh sighed in relief. "You're planning to escort us, are you?"

"Of course," he winked. "I'd give just about anything to see Tsu again."

* * *

Tsunade snarled when that same soldier with the wide, catlike black eyes stepped into the clearing, flanked by royal soldiers.

"You bastard," she hissed. "So you're the one! I knew we were being trailed!"

"Of course, but apparently you didn't look hard enough to spot the spy," the brunet commented calmly. At the snap of his fingers, two royal soldiers were grabbing her by the arms. As she struggled, he came closer, grasping her chin with two fingers.

"Now, and I'm only going to ask you once," he started, staring into her enraged brown eyes, "hand over the princess, if you please, and I will spare you."

"You'll never take her," she spat, twisting her face away from his grip. Unfortunately, that was all she could do at the moment. "When my backup arrives-!"

"That will simply never happen," he retorted with a shake of his head. "My superiors have already taken care of that."

"Now," he started again, taking her chin in his hand again, squeezing tighter, "I demand you to give the princess up to us."

"She was never yours to begin with!" Tsunade roared, kicking out. She narrowly missed his stomach, and he ordered two more soldiers to grab them. "She's the victim of a cycle of manipulation and power-hungry tyrants! Down with the Uchiha!"

Yamato let out a long, exhausted sigh.

A split-second later, a blade was at her throat, and his eyes narrowed. They were still too disturbing to look at, however, and she looked away, signalling something to the trees with her hand. If the event she was waiting for was coming, she hoped that they had seen it.

"I've asked you politely once," he said, the only trace of his frustration being in the way his fingers gripped the blade so hard it shook slightly. "I've tried being nice to you. I've tried making this civil enough that I won't have any stains on my record,"

He leaned in close enough to touch his nose to hers, whispering, "but I guess that's not how you want to play this right now, now is it?"

She tried to wrench her neck away, but he gripped her hair this time, forcing her head up. She grit her teeth in pain, giving him her worst glare. The helplessness was frustrating, but as much as she hated to be a damsel, especially after everything, he was really forcing her hand here.

Deep down, this was terrifying. Her blood turned to slush at the intensity of his wide-eyed stare, his soulless black depths subtly screwing with her mind, gazing right through her. For a moment, the thought that he could read her very thoughts crossed her brain, but a second later she forced it down. Having a knife at your neck, your life flashing before your own eyes... it was more haunting than any long-distance battle wounds she'd gotten thus far.

"Now I won't ask you again." Even through his faux polite demeanor, his voice was still ice cold. "Give me the princess, and no one gets hurt."

"Never," she hissed through gritted teeth. "I'll never surrender her to you. You'll get her over my dead body."

He pulled away, seemingly stunned at her defiance for a moment, but then he seemed oddly pleased.

"That request I can fulfill," he said, snapping his fingers. At once, his men gripped her face.

"Any last words before my men put you out of your misery, rebel scum?" The man's voice was oddly light, as if having a conversation with a friend over tea.

"Yes." She spat at him, a shit-eating grin on her face. "Long live the Resistance. Long live the rightful leader! Long live Senju Hashirama!"

As if on cue, something like a bomb exploded around them, the smoke making it impossible to see.

As the soldiers broke into coughing fits in the thick smoke, Tsunade managed to get free by kicking two in the face, flipping in the air backwards to free her face from their hands. She pulled her bandana over her face and finally stopped holding her breath.

She felt someone hoist her up and race away with her in their arms, multiple shouts of anger erupting from the scene behind them. The sound of wood splintering and arrows flying made her laugh breathlessly, the nervousness swirling in her stomach manifesting itself as a trembling in her limbs.

"Boy am I glad to see you," She beamed up at the blond carrying her to safety, clutching tightly at his cloak. "Are Karin and Aika safe?"

"Course they are," the young man scoffed. "Kisame and the others caught up with them up ahead."

"Are you hurt?" the flat voice of a handsome young man with hair like blood asked, catching up.

"Nah, just have a bruised ego," she shrugged. "I assume Noh and the others got the message."

"Not quite yet," the blond, Deidara, shook his head. "Last time I heard, Kakuzu-san was on his way to report."

"Ah, I see, I see." She sighed in relief. "Hoo boy, I'm exhausted."

"Sleep," the redhead advised. "We'll wake you when we get to the rendezvous point."

* * *

"Thanks again, Kisame-san," Karin said between sips of water. "I don't know what we would've done without you."

"'s no big deal, Spitfire," said man chuckled, ruffling her hair. "It's the least we could do after that whole Morino mess."

"Indeed." Itachi piped up, glancing back into the trees with a frown. His eyes were of pure scarlet, black tomoe swirling like black swans in a pool of blood. "Cypress's group should be arriving soon enough. For now, we must wait."

Aika relaxed against a tree trunk, taking off her hood. Her indigo eyes glanced around the clearing for a moment before she took a dainty sip of tea from a bottle.

Karin slumped next to her, mindful of her back as she lay on the damp grass with a groan. "Thank Kami that's over, right?"

Aika nodded silently. She'd seen a lot in her three years of being in the group; she'd battled, she'd won, she'd ran, the usual lot of those 'lucky' enough to escape and be forced into a fugitive's life.

_But, _she thought, looking over the soldiers that had escaped with them as they slumped against one another in relief, _I wouldn't trade this for anything._

Along the way, it had ceased being an unfortunate fact and had started to be a kind of... home. A family, if you will.

_Besides, this beats the setup back home. _She exhaled silently, resting the back of her head against the rough bark. _I think I fare way better being a fugitive of the law rather than being some nameless, voiceless lady-in-waiting to __**her**__._

At the very least, she had the frame of some kind of noble-born woman. It seemed enough to fool the royal soldiers - really, how it had still baffled her to no end. But now, hopefully the real Lady Hyuuga was safe and on her way.

Itachi glanced up sharply when they heard rapid footfalls. "They're here," he said simply. In an instant, his eyes melted back into their moonless black and he rose a hand in greeting to the captain of Squad Ten.

"I trust that you delivered them safely without incident," his voice seemed courteous enough, but it still held an edge of warning.

"Of course we did, Raven-sama." the captain bowed briefly to him. "We also managed to snag, ah, another unexpected traveller."

"Define 'unexpected'." Itachi's eyes narrowed.

"Eyyy, 'tachi-sannn!" Jiraiya greeted cheerfully as he stepped out of the underbrush, followed by Sakura and Noh. Hinata was in the pinkette's arms yet again, looking quite sheepish as all eyes went to her.

"Is the lady unharmed?" Karin was quick to ask, jumping up from her position to take her.

"She's fine, just had a helluva time keeping up." Sakura shrugged, letting her set her feet on the ground. "Couldn't have her spraining an ankle or anything."

With a quiet thank-you, Hinata turned to hide the way her cheeks were flushed in embarrassment.

Karin checked her over worriedly for a moment, but sighed in relief and pulled back a few moments later. "Good. You guys scared us for a minute there."

"Scared _you_?" Sakura snorted. "You scared _us_! First we barely manage to lose them, and then we get news that Iris has a situation?"

"Ah, yes, is she alright?" Noh panicked.

"She's just fine, don't worry." Kisame pointed a massive thumb at the trees. "Ol' Sasori's taking care of it."

The woman sighed heavily in relief, practically melting against Jiraiya. "Oh, thank Kami..."

"That just begets more urgency for us to get moving," Itachi pointed out. "Once they arrive, we'll have to give you a direct escort to Morino."

Jiraiya looked uneasy at that. "Morino...? But that's the town that the king ordered attacked, right?"

"Yes." Itachi nodded. "For now, they won't think to look in a destroyed village. We have associates there who are willing to hide us for the time being until we can regroup. Luckily for us, any and all guards they have there are a handful of low-levelled rookies. Easy to dispose of and easier to erase from the ranks."

Sakura nodded, her eyes narrowed with determination. "Did Tsunade explain Plan B to you in detail?"

"We were debriefed the very moment it became an option," the noiret said calmly, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Rest assured, the Akatsuki will do whatever it takes to ensure its success."

For a split-second, something flashed in his eyes, and for the first time since befriending him Sakura felt a shiver of genuine fear ripple up her spine.

* * *

**A/N: JIRAIYA IS HEEEEEERE! I love this dude so much, you don't even know!**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hoo boy, here's Shikamaru! Enjoy.**

* * *

_Chapter 11: Someplace New_

* * *

Fists slammed against the wooden table, making the man flinch.

"No. I absolutely will not accept this!" The sharp voice, so contrasting to his regular demeanor, cut through the atmosphere of the room as Shikamaru glared daggars at his parents. "You told me that we would just be joined in political ties! Why would you change your minds _now_? And why was I to know about this in _two days_?"

"Shikamaru," his father pleaded, but his mother sighed harshly and retorted.

"This is not something you can take control of," his mother snapped back. "You should be lucky that the Yamanaka clan is even considering joining both for marriage and influence. This union will be the best decision for both of our clans, and we expect you to give your support as well."

"I cannot!" Shikamaru yelled back. "Remember what I told you? I said that when I marry, I will only marry for love!"

"Shikamaru, many noble-born families find love after a marriage is finalized," his father tried to soothe while trying to keep his own irritation in check. "That was the case for your mother and I. Ino is a lovely girl; I'm sure that sooner or later you'd come around-"

The teenager abruptly stood, knocking his chair back. With a dark look, he stormed out of the room.

"Nara Shikamaru!" His mother angrily gasped. "Such disrespect! You will stay and listen to your father and I!"

Upon pausing at the doorway, he turned back to hiss at his father, "Just because I'm your son does not mean that I'm _your son_. No matter what you do, no matter what you say, I will continue to object for as long as I'm able."

Right when he wrenched the door open, he heard retreating footsteps and sighed frustratedly.

He slammed the door shut behind himself and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Leaning against the wall was Tenten, giving him a grim smile.

"So it's really true," she chuckled mirthlessly. "You're getting married."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," he sighed. "Sorry that you had to hear that."

"Wasn't just me." She shrugged, pointing a thumb to the hallway. "Although I'm sure you already knew that."

He nodded, walking with her the opposite way. "Ah, Kami... this makes things way worse."

Tenten patted his back. "Not your fault, man. Literally no one except the clan elders probably saw this coming. Hell, I was lucky to catch Lee when he heard."

He stiffened for a moment before glancing back to where Ino had run.

"I don't know... I mean, I have to give her credit for coming to me first." He sighed, rubbing his face. "But I do feel kind of bad for basically ruining her excitement with the way I acted in there... not to mention now I have to apologize to my parents."

"Yeah, that was a dick move of you," Tenten commented. "But the wedding announcement would be on the night of the celebration, right?"

"One week," he confirmed with an exhausted frown. "I don't have much time."

She glanced around for a few moments the second they got outside. Then she leaned in, whispering. "You know, we could always just... skip town."

He stared back at her in shock. "Tenten, are you crazy? I can't just sneak away! Not when we have so much to get ready for..."

"Listen to me for once, Maru." She grabbed his shoulders and shook him once, staring him in the eyes. "I've already talked it over with Captain Guy and he's agreed to look the other way while we make a run for it. This could be our once-in-a-lifetime chance for an adventure and help the Violet while we're at it!"

"Yeah, and one that will get us killed." He spat. He shrugged off her hands. "No thanks."

She gave him a cold, hard stare. "Are you questioning them? Are you questioning _her_? After everything that's gone into this? I thought you were smarter than this, Nara."

He sighed harshly. "I _am_ loyal. At least I'm knowledgable enough to realize that this plan was doomed from the very moment the royal family started raiding villages! Unlike the rest of this stupid town, I'm actually smart enough to realize that no matter what, the Uchiha will win and there's no hope for any of us, Iris be damned."

She flinched. "That... that hurts, Shikamaru."

"The truth is supposed to hurt, Tenten." He shot back. He folded his arms across his chest angrily for a moment before he deflated and looked at her pitifully. "... I'm sorry. That was a low blow."

"Yeah, it was." She agreed. Then she smiled at him, clapping him on the back. "But no worries, no worries. This whole 'arranged marriage' thing is probably more stressful than trying to win an argument against your mother."

"You have no idea," he groaned. "What am I gonna do?"

"You already know the answer to that." Tenten replied. "I just gave you the ultimatum. All you have to do is choose."

* * *

The morning dawned with dark clouds on the horizon, much to the chagrin of the people of Morino. Unluckily, even for the buildings, some intact, most either charred or completely burnt to the ground, the clouds often meant rain - and rain was the last thing they needed at the moment.

Some of the elder folk griped about needing rain when their village was being burnt to the ground, but the majority of the young adults held their tongues and silently got ready for the impending water.

The children went about quietly helping their parents (if their parents were even still alive), now-childless couples mourned in the privacy of their near-destroyed homes, orphans wandered around with a glassy emptiness in their eyes, and the elderly either turned away or held makeshift inns for anyone unlucky enough to have been thieved of their homes, spouses, children, or any combination of any three.

As a group of travellers entered the solemn little town, the people turned to stare for a few moments before looking away and keeping to themselves.

"Good morning," the woman with the short brown hair and a sweet smile greeted. "We're here on behalf of one Tazuna Yori?"

"Oh yes, right this way, ma'am." The young woman gestured towards one of the homes with a collapsed roof. "Please excuse the mess. We're still, ah, cleaning up."

"No worries." She waved it off. "We understand. We extend our sympathies for what happened."

"Please, don't." The smile on the young woman's face grew rigid. "We're doing all we can."

"Of course, of course. Please, allow us to help while we stay." The brunette was quick to console.

The woman said nothing more, only directing them to a small trapdoor underneath some rubble in the corner of what looked to be the kitchen. Upon lifting the thin metal door, a ladder into the darkness of the basement appeared.

The small group glanced at each other for a moment before a woman with short noir hair stepped forward. With an uncertain look at their host, she turned so that she could place one foot gingerly on the ladder.

"Don't worry, it won't break." The woman encouraged with a light chuckle. "Trust me, we've tested that extensively."

She nodded and began to descend.

Once she was safely in the basement, one by one the others went after her. When at last the brunette was left, she clasped her host's hands in hers and repeated, "Thank you so much. Please let us help you in return."

"It's no trouble at all," the young lady shrugged. "I mean, they can't take much more from us. We want to see them taken down just as much as anyone else."

* * *

**A/N: Ah, we finally get to see Morino again... after they got burnt down. And yet another world retcon. (Ino-Shika-Cho doesn't exist in this universe)**

**Also! I'm certain that, after laying the entire plot out, this is gonna be at least the second-longest fanfic I've ever written. The longest one? If I ever get around to finishing the rewrite and polishing it, ironically enough, The Camp Shinobi Disaster. Just a fun little tidbit of information.**

**I've been polishing chapters way ahead of time, and at this point, we're at least halfway through the chapters I've uploaded to the site, and we're good until December. Don'tcha just love a fixed update schedule? 'Cause I know I do!**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Uploading it a bit early this morning, since I have to meet some high school buddies today.**

* * *

_Chapter 12: Choices (No, Not the Bad Mobile Game)_

* * *

"Somehow I regret this," Tenten muttered as she, Shikamaru, and Lee hovered over a letter in Shikamaru's study. "Can I talk you out of this yet?"

"I've made up my mind," Shikamaru replied, glancing up at her. "It's too late to back out of it now. Captain Guy was already kind enough to smuggle this in from Morino for me."

"Not to mention, the two agents in old man Ichiraku's bar," Lee chimed in thoughtfully. "It would be suspicious if you didn't show up. You should do this."

"But what about Ino?" Tenten persisted. "She's going to be extremely hurt that you just ditched her, y'know."

"Wasn't she made aware of the match before I was?" Shikamaru asked pointedly, raising an eyebrow at the brunette.

At her silence, he nodded. "Of course. If I'm permitted to be mean about this, she'll have to deal with it for now."

Tenten frowned deeper. "I... I don't know..."

He ignored her and continued to inspect the letter. "At around ten o'clock, I should head out to meet with them. Obviously my parents will be expecting me to do _something_, but I doubt they'd expect me to defect and join the enemy."

Lee nodded slowly. "Are you okay with going alone?"

The teenager hesitated. "Well, I- I..."

At that moment, the door burst open, causing the room's occupants to jump. Shikamaru whirled around as Lee hastily tried to hide the letter as a sobbing Ino clung to him.

"Shikamaru, I'm sorry!" She wailed, clenching onto his shirt tighter. "I should've told you the moment I found out that we were getting married, but- but I thought you'd-"

"Calm down, calm down," he snapped, though with little heat behind his words. He tried to pry her fingers off, but when she proved to be too stubborn, he heaved a sigh and rested a hand on her head. "Stop crying... I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?" She looked up at him, looking absolutely wrecked. Her makeup was a mess, her eyes were puffy, and her lips were trembling. "Are you sure you're not mad?"

"No." He shook his head. "Now what's the matter? Usually you knock first."

She looked down, her cheeks reddening even more. "Well, I just- I wanted to ask you something."

"Well, ask." He was growing irritated. Of all the times to be shy and draw things out, now was the moment for her?

"Run away with me," she begged. "I don't care where, I just- I don't want to see the look on my family's faces if you were to break off the engagement! I'm already enough of a disgrace as it is because I can't get the prince to marry me! If you broke it off, I..."

Shikamaru blinked. "You... what? Eloping?"

"No, not eloping!" She sniffled, wiping her eyes. "I understand that you don't feel like that. I just... I wanna get out of Konoha, but I can't do it alone."

Tenten and Lee shared a look.

"Can we tell her?" She asked him.

"Tell her what?" Shikamaru asked. "You mean-"

"Are you already planning something?" She asked with a frown.

"Well, er- actually, yes." He sighed again, moving out of the way so that Lee could pull out the letter again. "I've come into contact with- Tenten, please shut the door."

She obliged and raced to it, shutting and locking it for good measure.

When he was sure no one else could eavesdrop, he lowered his voice and gazed seriously at Ino. "What I'm about to tell you cannot, I repeat, cannot leave this room. Understand?"

She nodded, eyes wide. "I promise."

"Okay." He gestured towards the slightly-crumpled paper. "I've recently come into contact with the leader of a faction of the rebel band Riot. I'm planning to join them tonight."

She gaped at him. "Are- are you crazy?! If you're caught, you could die!"

"I've already weighed my options," he retorted, rubbing his forehead irritatedly. "I know full well what I'm getting myself into. If you really wanna run away, then you have to choose now. I'm not bailing you out if you change your mind later."

She bit her lip and glanced from the letter to Shikamaru, and back and forth for a couple of seconds.

_There's no going back_, a little voice reminded her. _Once you join them, you'll forever be branded a traitor. No one will ever want to marry you then. You'll have forever cast away your title as heiress to the main branch of the Yamanaka clan._

_Yet... _she gazed longingly at the letter. A new chance sounded fantastic. She was sick and tired of having to wait around for someone to finally take interest in her. Regardless of her title, she was a girl with big dreams for the future. Would she really be content in being some lord's wife for the rest of her life?

She hated the fact that it was forcing her to explore herself like this. _Of course it wouldn't be an open-and-shut deal_, she sighed to herself. Once you leave, there's no going back.

Vaguely, the memory resurfaced of a preteenage girl with stringy, dull strawberry-blonde hair and a tired smile. What would Sakura have said about this? What would she have done?

_I deeply regret not trying harder, _she mourned. _Perhaps this is my one chance at redemption?_

"Well?" Lee asked, extending a hand. "Are you in?"

She slowly looked up, a determined smile on her face as she shook his hand firmly.

"I'll do it. For _her_ sake." She decided.

* * *

Fugaku sighed deeply as he leaned against the massive headboard, the words on the pages blurring together.

"What's the matter, dear?" Mikoto's voice made him look up, and he smiled softly at the sight of his wife standing beside the bed in a silk red nightgown.

"Nothing's wrong, Miko," he shook his head dazedly as he set the book on the nightstand. She slipped under the covers and giggled, wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. "Just... I have no clue as to what he wants with Sasuke."

"He?" Mikoto was puzzled for a moment before she nodded knowingly. "Ah. That. Well, what did Bi-san tell you before?"

"All he wanted was for me to increase his training in magic, nothing more." The king wearily rubbed his face before wrapping an arm around her, holding her close. "But now... with Riot staying silent, I need direction. They could be anywhere."

"Hmmm..." She mused, gently running her fingers across his collar. "I wouldn't worry too much about the wretched traitors, darling..."

"At this point, I must worry." Fugaku shook his head slowly, burying his face in her sweet-smelling hair. "If Bi is to succeed, I fear for our lineage... if Riot is to succeed, I have the feeling we won't be around for long enough to fear for anything."

"It's a lose-lose situation," he continued with a weary sigh. "I just hope that he won't curse our familly more than we already are."

Mikoto hummed in thought, again, and pulled away from him to gaze up into his face. He was just as handsome as he'd been when he'd married her all those years ago, just with more wrinkles and dark spots than before.

She smiled sweetly, cupping his cheek with one hand. "Don't worry, Gaku. Somehow, I have a feeling that Riot won't be as big of a problem soon enough."

The couple lay there, basking in each other's company for a while until Fugaku turned off the lights so they could fall asleep.

Meanwhile, on the table, amid a sizeable stack of books here and there, a single piece of paper, adorned with her signature, lay innocently enough, despite its grim printed warning.

_**"A new challenger approaches."**_

* * *

**A/N: Contrary to what she looks like, Mikoto can be one scary motherfucker.**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey, you guys! Ah, I'm just so excited. I've gotten a large chunk of the story done and I can't wait to get to the real meat and potatoes of the plot. For now, though, you get this little tidbit! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 13: Laying Low_

* * *

It had been a few days of laying low for the group.

Hinata hummed to herself as she rinsed out the laundry, a small smile gracing her lips.

She hadn't minded when she was relegated to washing duty. If anything, she was grateful for it.

She glanced up as she noticed Tsunade and Sakura walking by, sporting cotton tunics and hoods to shade their faces. Both were carrying a couple of wooden boards, each board at least Tsunade's height and nearly a third as wide as it was long.

She chuckled to herself, focusing on wringing out the excess water from the garment. _Washing things is quite theraputic, _she mused to herself. _I could do this forever._

She took a few moments to gaze at her reflection in the murky gray water. A couple of strands of hair fell into her face, and she frowned, tucking them behind her ear.

While her hair was easier to deal with when cut, she couldn't keep away the pang of pain in her heart from seeing it short.

_I just hope my family will forgive me for this sin one day, _she mourned, closing her eyes.

She reopened her eyes and looked up when she heard Sakura panting as she walked closer.

The sheen of sweat glimmered on her brow, and as she wiped it away Hinata could see her hair sticking to her face.

"Need a drink?" She asked, standing up from the washing station.

"I'd die for one," Sakura replied with a tired grin.

With that, Hinata went back inside, finding Sakura's mug amid their stuff. Dipping it into the bucket of clean wellwater they'd gotten that morning, she went back to the pinkette, gently pressing it into her hands.

"Thanks, Hina," Sakura nodded in gratitude before pressing the rim to her lips and tilting her head back, downing it all in a couple of chugs.

Hinata couldn't help but admire the strength she had. She tried not to be envious of the muscles she'd developed in her arms, but sometimes she wished she could be as built.

Taking away the mug with a satisfied 'ahh', Sakura handed it back to Hinata with a smile.

"Having fun washing clothes?" She teased with a wink. "Not getting bored, I hope."

"Of course not," the lady chuckled after coming back out without the mug. She walked with the girl to her washing station. "I find it as fun as I assume lugging around boards is for you."

"Meh, it's a way to test how strong I am," the pinkette shrugged. "Besides, have you ever seen a woman with muscles like _this_?"

She demonstrated her point by flexing. Indeed, her arms were sculpted, her biceps taut. Even through the thin fabric, she was sculpted.

"Impressive!" The lady praised, a blush on her face. _If a man had done that in front of me, I'd have called him lewd, but... when Sakura does it... it doesn't feel the same?_

_I don't know how to react to this_, she decided when Sakura put her arms down.

"You're too kind to me, Hinata," Sakura rubbed the back of her neck with a grin.

* * *

"Shikamaru, are you sure we're not being followed?" Ino asked in a hushed voice, glancing behind herself for the umpteenth time.

"I _promise_ you that nobody's following us," the boy replied in exasperation. "Leader-sama would've noticed immediately."

She nodded silently, keeping her eyes on the trees.

Pein glanced back at them, but Konan shook her head.

"We'll be stopping in the next town," She told them. "From there, we'll get you to Iris, and you can hide."

"Thank you for letting us come with you." Shikamaru replied with a curt nod.

"Violet has had quite the glowing recommendation of you," Pein said simply. "Now let's hurry."

_"Violet?" _Ino turned to Shikamaru in question, but he simply kept his eyes ahead. _"I wonder who they mean..."_

* * *

Sasuke stared into the sky with a frown. The grass was cool against his skin, but not even the most tranquil spot in the gardens was enough to calm his mood.

"I haven't seen you here in a long time," Naruto remarked as he sat down beside him. "Not since Castle Point."

Sasuke grunted in reply.

The blond glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, a sympathetic look on his face. "Do you... need to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?" Sasuke asked distantly. "You were there."

"Well, yeah, but you were the one who was almost kidnapped." He shrugged.

"I've already discussed my feelings at length with you; I don't see what else there is to confess."

The brief second of silence between them was broken when Naruto turned his body to face the black-haired prince, cerulean eyes staring intently at his pale face.

"You've never told me what it was like, that day," Naruto replied firmly, "watching her in the water."

Sasuke's whole body went rigid, and his heart stuttered for a moment. When he did turn his head so that he could see Naruto's face, his expression was even, but he feared his eyes betrayed the pain within.

"I don't see how my feelings about... about _her_... would make any difference," he said, cursing himself for hesitating.

"They'd make all the difference, actually," Naruto insisted, his face going stern. "All I remember is that you were never... quite the same after the battle."

Sasuke bowed his head, his bangs covering his face.

"I mean, I remember the pain in your face when you told me she was dead, but... but you never actually told me what that moment was like."

"Please, drop it," the prince whispered pleadingly.

"No." Naruto shook his head once, fiercely. "You out of all people should know that holding it in will only hurt you more in the long run. You're running yourself ragged these days, trying to hunt down both Sakura and Hinata's killers with your dad, and you aren't even giving a moment for yourself!"

"Stop it..." He clenched his eyes shut.

"Just for _once_, let me into your world!" Naruto cried. "How did it feel, seeing her face-down in that water? How did it feel to see our childhood friend suddenly just... dead?"

"_I SAID STOP!_" Sasuke finally roared, snapping his head up to glare venomously at his best friend. His eyes were crimson, black tomoe spinning rapidly as his rage filled his body with fire. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW IT FEELS!"

Naruto stayed eerily calm through Sasuke's shouted rant, not even budging from his spot, even when the prince slammed his fist down right next to him, singing the grass.

"You don't know how it feels to stare your dead loved ones in the face!" Sasuke continued to scream. "You don't know how it feels to know that the ones you love are never, ever, ever coming back, no matter how many of their killers you kill! No matter how much revenge you get! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW!"

"Every night I see her," he continued, tears beginning to bubble in his eyes. "I see her laying there, face down, hair stained with blood- her neck was- was snapped, and she had the ugliest black bruise, like someone choked her,"

Naruto stared at him evenly, his face blank.

"I see her and then I know- I know I'm never gonna get her back!" Sasuke began to sob, but even though his anger was fading, he still punched the ground with all his strength. "And then, with Hinata- I just- not a night goes by that I don't get visions of what she must've looked like! How mangled- how charred-"

He finally collapsed on the grass, a blubbering mess, shaking hands clenched into fists around whole tufts of grass. When a couple of bodyguards tentatively appeared from behind some rosebushes, Naruto simply shook his head at them, dismissing them.

"I can't- ever forgive them." Sasuke breathed heavily, his bangs sticking to his tearstained red cheeks. "I can't! I won't! I won't ever forgive them for taking my family away!"

Naruto patted his back, but offered no further comment.

"First, Sakura," he continued to sob, "a- and then 'tachi, and then- and then Hin- nata,"

Naruto simply sighed, tilting up the prince's chin so that he could look into glassy crimson eyes. The tomoe had stopped spinning so fast, but either the prince didn't know or didn't care that his bloodline was still active.

"Look, I'm sorry," he comforted, brushing the hair away. "I shouldn't have pushed you so hard. But you said something earlier that I... kinda have to correct.

"You said earlier that I didn't know what it was like, to stare my dead loved ones in the face." Naruto kept looking at him, even when he looked away, somewhat ashamed. "You said earlier that I didn't know what it was like to know that the ones I love aren't coming back, no matter how much I try to avenge their deaths.

"I'm not gonna get mad, I'm not gonna get angry, but know this, Sasuke." Naruto's face went dead serious, a look that the teenager hadn't seen him pull before. "While I don't blame you for what happened to cause my parents' passing, there's no guarantee that I don't hold the same grudge against the Uchiha who did kill them. Should you _ever_ give me any indication that you're going on the same path _he_ did, I will not hesitate to kill you."

Sasuke nodded slowly, and just like that, Naruto's face softened, and he was comforting again.

"Again, I'm sorry for pushing you so hard." The blond sighed heavily. "But I have to know. It's been six years since her death... and yet, you were the one to find her. I have to know what you felt... if you even felt anything at all."

Sasuke tried to blink away the tears, and while he did so, he deactivated his bloodlimit, causing his eyes to go back to their normal black. "It hurts so much when I see her in my mind's eye," he admitted quietly. "But... but if you really want to know, then... I guess I could tell you some things I kept to myself from that day."

"Please do," Naruto encouraged.

The prince took a shaky breath. He opened his fists, only to reveal blades of grass still stuck to his sweaty palms. He brushed it off the best he could and turned to face Naruto. Taking a deep breath, he began with, "As you know, just before my thirteenth birthday, my father and I took a trip to one of the towns around Castle Point, Morino. It was there that we were ambushed."

* * *

**A/N: Brace yourselves: Next chapter is gonna be fully backstory!**

**And yes, Hinata is going to only be in love with Naruto. We've got some kinda strange love-triangle at this point between them, but just remember: NaruHina is endgame. (I'll take any and all Endgame jokes here, and nowhere else.)**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you next week.**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: And now, ladies and gentlemen, the long-awaited recount episode! I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

_Chapter 14: On That Day_

* * *

It was an unusually warm day in early May. Sasuke glanced around as he rode his horse, taking in the beautiful scenery. He took a deep breath of fresh forest air and smiled to himself. The birds were singing, summer was on its way, and this latest trip with his father was going to be a great one.

Not only would he be visiting Morino, a place where he had a few childhood friends, but he was actually going to be able to sit in on an actual meeting with the leader of the village to figure out what they should do about a growing rebel group!

_"My first council meeting away from the castle, with an actual village leader," _he thought to himself gleefully. "Not only that, but seeing Hasu and the others will be awesome!"

He turned to look at Naruto, who rode next to him. The blond boy grinned back at him.

"Aren't you pumped?" Naruto asked, bouncing in his saddle. "I'm excited to see the others again!"

"Right?" The boy agreed with a smile. "It's been far too long since we've visited. I wonder if Gina's older sister got married yet."

"Bleh, who cares about marriage yet?" The boy made a face, sticking out his tongue. "Girls are weird. You aren't ever gonna get married, are you?"

"Not right now," the prince admitted, softly biting his lip. "I mean, I'm technically second-in-line for the throne, or so Father says. Maybe one day I'll marry a high-society girl and be the ruler of some far-off country."

"I wonder if your dad would ever betrothe you to Gaara's older sister!" Naruto snickered. "Nah, she's mean."

Sasuke laughed along with him. "Yeah, that'd be weird! Doesn't she hate us or something?"

"You boys stay alert," Fugaku admonished with a smile at their antics. "The road to Morino isn't as safe as it used to be."

"Yes, Father," Sasuke obediently replied. Naruto just groaned.

"Don't sweat it, King! I'm sure nothin's gonna happen this time." Naruto insisted.

"Even though you said that the last time," Sasuke reminded.

"And the time before that," Fugaku added, a playful twinkle in his eye.

"Wha? Just because it happened before don't mean it's gonna happen again!" Naruto grumbled.

Sasuke and his father just laughed. After a moment of pouting, Naruto joined in.

* * *

When the group had finally arrived at Morino early in the morning, Naruto and Sasuke jumped off of their horses and barely managed to tie them to a post before running off to greet their friends.

The village leader's children, Hasu and his six-year-old brother Jun, greeted them happily. Sasuke bade the village leader a polite hello before running in to Hasu's room.

As the third-youngest of seven children, Hasu didn't have a grandiose room. He shared his with his twin brother Isamu.

The eldest, Hajime, who'd just turned eighteen, greeted the boys by snatching up Naruto and giving him a noogie.

"Hey, hey, lemme go!" Naruto cried, laughing as the teenager rubbed his head.

"Good that you visited, squirt!" Hajime cried. "I can finally get my revenge upon you!"

"If it's for last time, I already said I was sorry!" Naruto replied.

"Sorry won't cut it this time, young man!"

Sasuke watched with amusement as the two battled in the hallway. As usual, Hajime had the upper hand over the tinier, skinnier blond, but Naruto proved to be formidible in his attack.

Suddenly, the boys' mother popped her head around the corner with a disapproving frown. "Hajime, aren't you supposed to be getting ready for that meeting with your father?"

Immediately, he dropped Naruto, and with a nod and a "Sorry, Mother," he excused himself from the boys with a sheepish, "I promise we'll play later."

* * *

For some reason, he had the strangest look in his eye. It was almost as if he was anticipating something to happen, now that Sasuke reflected on it six years later. As if he knew what was going to happen in only a short hour, something he just couldn't look the young prince in the eye for. It only made the following deaths of the village leader's whole family feel a little better, but Sasuke still felt horribly guilty for the younger ones when he learned of it.

* * *

Sasuke watched him go in surprise. "I didn't know Hajime was so..."

"Grown up?" Hasu finished for him. At the answering nod, he sighed, "Yeah, Ma's had him busy ever since his birthday last winter. He never has time to play with us anymore. I mean heck, even Jirou still plays 'Warrior' with us, and he's almost eighteen too."

"Wow," Sasuke managed to utter. Then he shook his head, turning to face the brothers. "So has your room changed much?"

* * *

A while later, Sasuke had bade the brothers goodbye and he and Naruto had dressed up to go to the meeting with the king.

"I'm so nervous," Naruto admitted, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. "What if something really does happen this time?"

"For your sake, I hope you were right in saying we'll be fine," Sasuke replied, shooting him a tiny glare.

The boys made their way into the meeting hall, where the king was already seated with two empty seats beside him.

"Good timing, boys," he greeted them, patting the armrest of the chair. "Have a seat. The meeting will being shortly, just as soon as Isao and his eldest get here."

Sasuke nodded primly and took his chair, folding his hands in his lap to appear more grown-up. Naruto sat right beside him, resting his chin in his hand, bored.

Somewhere during the excruciatingly-long ten-minute or so wait, Naruto leaned in with a frown. "Didn't something about Hajime seem... off somehow?"

"Like what?" Sasuke asked, his brow wrinkling in confusion. "Like how he avoided my eyes?"

"Yeah, like... like how I used to look at your mom when we'd slide down the banisters," the blond replied. "I dunno... if you ask me, it kinda reminds me of the way your cousin looked before the explosion at-"

Only seconds afterward, the sound of an explosion shook the building, along with the sound of people shrieking in panic.

Sasuke and Naruto jumped in fear, while Fugaku pushed his chair back and turned to look out the open doorway.

"Children, stay here," he ordered. "Men, come with me!"

One by one, he and his soldiers left the meeting hall, leaving the confused, terrified preteens huddled together underneath the table.

"Sasuke, I'm scared," Naruto whimpered, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He held his friend tighter. "I- I don't wanna die! Not like Mama and Daddy did!"

"We'll be fine, Naruto," Sasuke promised, but deep inside he felt frustrated at how helpless they were in that moment. He could only hug Naruto tighter as explosions continued to rattle the village. The sound of people screaming, the sound of horses whinnying... he clenched his eyes shut for a few moments to try and block it out in vain.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped wide open and he heard a familiar voice among the crowd screaming. A voice he hadn't heard in years, but one that still resonated within his mind as her.

"Sakura!" He shouted, rising up and accidentally slamming his head against the bottom of the table. "Ahh- crap-"

"Sakura? She's here?" Naruto asked, wide blue eyes alert. "Oh no-"

"Stay here, I'll see if I can find her." Sasuke ordered, crawling out from underneath the table as the pain subsided somewhat. "I'm sure Father's sending soldiers back at this very moment to protect you. Don't move! I'll be back once I get her!"

With that, the prince raced out of the building, dodging kunai knives and the occasional arrow.

"Sakura!" He screamed, trying to see through the commotion of dust kicked up by the horses. "Sakura, where are you? It's me, Sasuke!"

He ran through the village, looking high and low. Between the homes, in alleys, even where the fighting was going on. Still, he didn't see her unforgettable strawberry-blonde tresses anywhere.

"Sakura!" He called again. His voice was hurting to match the pain from hitting the table, and his legs were growing weary, but he wouldn't stop until he found her. "Sakura!"

Finally, he came to a stop against a building, catching his breath. He still heard the battle, but the villagers had stopped yelling so loud. Now all he heard was the battle cries of his father's army against some kind of terrorist group.

He spotted a house up the road that he hadn't looked around yet. _"If there's anywhere else she could be, it'll be there!"_

With one careful look around to make sure he wouldn't get hit or trampled, he bolted towards the farmhouse. The peaceful blue of the river near it made him a little calmer for a moment before he remembered his mission.

"Sakura!" He called, looking through the windows. He searched for her through the crop field near the forest's beginning again, but still, nothing.

Just when he was about to give up, though, he heard something. Something that sounded weird.

His ears picked up the sound of water splashing above the usual sounds of the river water going by. He turned, confused, seeing only the calm river, although it now seemed... red?

His heart skipped a beat when he neared it. _"No... it couldn't be. J- just a fish."_

And then, when his eyes roamed the slow-moving water, time slowed down to a snail's pace. His heart stopped. His mind went totally blank.

The only word his stunned brain could conjure was "N- no..."

The red was what caught his eyes first, along with the slight smell of blood.

He could only stare at her unmoving body, face-down, that... that red matting her pretty hair...

He collapsed to his knees, the tears blurring her body in his vision. "No. No. No."

His body was stuck on that word, a broken record playing over and over, with different intensity every time. "_No. No_. _No_."

He sat there for what seemed like forever, just staring at her body until someone touched his shoulder.

He could smell the familiar scent of blood, mixing with the perfume of lilacs she'd flaunted (when they were eight), and that's when the dam snapped.

He clenched his eyes shut, the tears rolling down his cheeks, as he shrieked, "_**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**_!"

He could barely hear someone's voice and felt the sharp prick of the edge of a kunai knife over his anguished wails. His front hit the ground, and he slammed his fist against the rocks, the pain of jagged edges against his hands fading away to the emptiness that was what he felt inside.

"NOOOOOOO!" He continued to scream. "AHHHHH - AAH- _GYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH_!"

"_**SAAAAAAAAAAKUUUURAAAAAAAAAAA**_!"

* * *

"The next thing I knew, Father was holding me in his arms, and I was wrapped in a blanket," Sasuke explained, his tears drying now. "Apparently, I'd over-exerted myself from the grief and I'd been captured by the leader of Riot herself. My mind totally shut down. I don't even remember anything about my brief kidnapping, only that I kept smelling Sakura's lilac perfume. For months afterward, I kept dreaming of her ghost following me. I kept seeing her everywhere."

He chuckled wryly. "It's almost like she was haunting me from beyond the grave. I couldn't get that scent out of my mind for days. It took me quite a while before I could stand smelling fresh lilacs again."

Naruto nodded, his face solemn and sad. "Damn, that must have been... just awful."

"It was way more awful than how you're describing it, yes," Sasuke snapped. "I felt like my very soul had departed from my body. All I could do was sit there. My brain just wasn't... wasn't acting right."

The blond sighed, wrapping an arm tighter around his best friend. "I have no idea what it must've been like, but... one thing has kept me awake at night since Morino."

"What do you mean?"

Naruto turned and stared him dead in the eye. "You were kidnapped, yeah, but... when we got to the point where you could've seen her, there... there was no body. The only thing we saw was a piece of her dress caught to a rock. We found the bodies of Hajime, his brothers, Gina, her sisters, the village elder, but..."

Sasuke felt like the air had been punched out of him. "What are you trying to say, Namikaze?"

"I'm saying," the boy continued, "that perhaps Hinata's and Sakura's 'deaths' are linked somehow. What if... what if she's actually alive?"

* * *

**A/N: HOLY SHIT, GIVE THE BOY A TROPHY! DING-DING-DING, SOMEONE FINALLY FIGURED OUT THAT SAKURA'S PROBABLY ALIVE, AND IT'S KONOHA'S NUMBER-ONE KNUCKLEHEAD!**

**All joking aside, yes, this is the full account (from Sasuke's side!) about what happened in Morino! Sooner or later, we're gonna have to see about Sakura's side, so stay tuned.**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys next week.**


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: Exactly as the title says, we'll finally get to cross paths with our intrepid friends this chapter! See you at the bottom.**

* * *

_Chapter 15: Reuniting With Old Friends_

* * *

It was early evening when the quartet got to Morino. As they walked through the desolate town, Ino's eyes couldn't leave the devastation all around them.

"Are they- are they still rebuilding?" She choked out. "After the attack?"

"Yes." Pein answered with a curt nod. "Such a dreadful thing, anger can be. Especially in the wrong hands..."

She grew quiet again, staring at a father and his son who seemed to be picking up charred boards of wood from the wreckage of what once was a house, solemn looks on their grubby faces. The boy looked like he'd been injured, with the makeshift cloth bandage wrapped tightly around his arm.

_"So many people suffered here..." _she mourned silently, the unexpected guilt making her choke up a little. _"And all the while, what was I doing?"_

A memory resurfaced, one that made her turn away in shame as the little boy looked over with haunted, dull brown eyes. One of her father announcing the destruction of Morino, and her glee at that 'wretched town getting what it truly deserves'. In the moment, she was giddy that the king was going to 'avenge' Hyuuga's murder by killing innocent citizens, but now that she was seeing the scope of the aftermath, she felt too ashamed to look anyone in the eye.

_"Shikamaru was so determined to get out of Konoha, and now I'm starting to see why." _She glanced around, but all she saw were more people in the same, sometimes varying, conditions. Broken families, children wandering aimlessly, teenagers caring for their (presumed) infant siblings, the elderly just watching with sadness...

She thought of Sakura when they were younger, and how much she'd always envied the girl for being so close to Sasuke_. "I purposefully made her my friend to make myself look better because she was always so pathetic, but... after she left, my heart gained this... this hole that couldn't be filled._

_"Perhaps," _she continued to muse, sparing a quick glance at Shikamaru, _"perhaps I was more jealous of __her__ more than anything. I guess she was right in the end; the royal family is too obsessed with keeping people in order. Maybe she was right to escape the carnage early."_

She shook her head suddenly, a movement that made Shikamaru look at her out of the corner of his eye. _"__No__, Ino, you are __not__ going to think about suicide! It still hurts so bad to think about Sakura's death... I can't imagine ever going through with something like that right now."_

"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" Shikamaru asked in a hushed tone.

"No, of course not," she replied weakly. "I just- I just feel so horrible for these poor people."

Shikamaru nodded slowly. "Yeah, what happened here is a grim reminder of the world we live in."

"And I'm... still feeling guilty about Sakura," she admitted with a sigh. "I wish I could've done something before she died. I was always a horrible 'friend' to her... maybe if I could've convinced her not to come to Morino during the same week as the king, then maybe she could've survived."

The brunet simply patted her shoulder. "While I can't speak for us both, I know that... we all cared about Sakura, maybe to the point that we would've, if we had the chance, let her go."

"What are you saying?" She hissed, her anger simmering. "You'd let a good friend die in order to be lonely for six whole years in the capital city? You'd really let her die for nothing?"

"I'm not saying her sacrifice was for nothing, I'm saying that maybe it had a purpose we can't understand." Shikamaru sighed harshly. "Think about it. Her death made the prince bitter, yes, but it also slowed him down. It slowed the whole royal family down for quite a while. There's a reason we didn't have so many clashes with Riot after the Castle Point battles for a month or two."

"They were... mourning?" Ino asked incredulously, raising a delicate blonde eyebrow.

"Both the prince and Naruto were good friends with her too, remember?" Shikamaru hinted with a pointed look. "Back when her father worked with the king, she always used to go on and on about her adventures with them both. Of course they'd mourn her passing."

"... Oh," she mumbled, sheepish now. "I hadn't thought about how close they were to her too..."

"Then again, directly after the mourning period passed, the king grew more intense with his hunting down Riot, so maybe it had a negative impact after all, but who knows." Shikamaru finished with a loose shrug. "Perhaps Iris-sama would know more than anyone, but unless we could see Sakura again, we'll never know."

* * *

Noh glanced up at the darkening sky with a heavy sigh. "Seven long years, my love... how I miss your embrace."

Tsunade came up and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, sending her a sympathetic frown. "Time doesn't make it any easier, does it?"

"No, never," the brunette replied, shaking her head. "Especially when I think of the family we could've had together."

"At least Arata is with a loving family," the blonde encouraged softly. "And when he comes of age, you'll get to see him again."

"I sure hope so," Noh sighed once more. "With the way the kingdom is ran, I fear that I'll never live to see his eighteenth year."

"Don't worry, Noh," Sakura chimed in as she walked up to them. "If there's one thing I remember about my parents, it's that they're stubborn. They won't stop at anything to let you see him again. Once they promise something, consider it set in stone."

The brunette cracked a wry smile and chuckled softly.

"Come, sit by the fire." Tsunade coaxed, leading the three of them towards the fire pit behind the house.

Under an awning was a deep fire pit, a small blaze already burning in the scraps of burnable wood they'd been able to pick up.

Hinata was already sitting there next to Karin, a soft smile on her lips. She glanced up and nodded in greeting.

"Good evening," she said, gesturing towards the ratty cushions they'd been given. "A day of hard work deserves a rest beside the fire. Would any of you like tea?"

"I'm good, thank you," Noh replied with a shake of her head. She sat down with a small groan. "My arms will be sore tomorrow."

"I'll second that," Tsunade grunted as she sat down as well. "There are just... _so_ many wounds to heal. So many burn victims."

Karin winced at the mention. "Speaking of, my back feels a lot better today."

"In much thanks to your chakra, I'm not surprised." Noh made a twirling motion with her hand. "Let me see."

Karin turned and exposed her back, which, indeed, looked less tender than it had before. It was still pink and blistered in some spots, but thanks to both healing and her own chakra, it looked much, much closer to what it should look like.

"Good, good!" Sakura praised. "Your healing factor is impeccable."

Just then, a shadow appeared by the side of the house. Sakura beamed, jumping up from her spot to hug the person.

"Konan!" She cheered. "You're back already! Didja bring them?"

"Of course," she replied, an amused smile on her face.

When Sakura let go of her, Pein appeared with the two next to him.

Sakura's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open in shock. _"After all these years... it's them?"_

"This is Ino, and my name's Shikamaru," the boy with the spiky brown hair introduced awkwardly. "Sorry to intrude."

Tears began to dot her eyes at the sight of her childhood friends, and especially Shikamaru. The boy had been so much more than a best friend to her while they were both growing up. He'd been her mentor, and she had been, in his words, 'the little sister he never knew he wanted, but definitely the little sister that would've drove his parents crazy'.

Silence set in between them as he caught her eye. His own brown eyes widened, but then they softened.

Tsunade got up, and the rosette sniffled quietly.

"Shikamaru!" She finally cried, lunging foward to embrace him tightly. The tears spilled over. "Oh Kami, it's _you_! It's really _you_! You're here!"

He patted her back, a genuine smile on his face. "It's me," he comforted softly. "You look good for all that you've gone through."

Ino blinked in confusion at the girl with the long pink hair hugging her friend. _"Who's she? Somehow, she sounds familiar, but..."_

An image of a thirteen-year-old pale little girl with strawberry-blonde hair and dull peridot eyes flashed by her mind's eye, and her breath caught in her throat when the girl looked up.

Sure, her eyes were a deep grass green, and her hair was mussed and a soft pink, but her face was nearly identical to that same thin little girl, just a little older.

Ino felt like she'd been punched.

For a few seconds, she couldn't say anything, but then she was able to stutter, "Sa... _Sakura_?"

Sakura turned to look at her, and a wry smile spread across her face.

"Surprise," she chuckled through her happy tears. "I lived."

* * *

After a long time of crying, questions, and hugging, Ino sat beside her next to the campfire, smoothing a few locks of her hair in her fingers.

"So that's what happened..." Shikamaru whistled lowly. "Damn, must've been quite a scare."

"It was awful," Noh nodded in agreement. "Thankfully Sasori and Deidara were tailing Tsunade's group, or else who knows what would've been happening to them now."

"I know what would've happened," Karin piped up. "Death for treason for me, death for crimes against the crown for Tsunade, and prison for everyone else."

Tsunade snorted. "As if I'd let them take me alive."

Sakura briefly shot her a concerned frown.

"And now that brings us to you." Shikamaru ended, gazing intently at Sakura. "Mind catching us up on what's happened since the attack on Morino six years ago? I mean, surely you had a reason for faking your death besides running away to join a rebel group."

She laughed nervously. "Oh, well, I wasn't really thinking that hard about it back then. My angsty twelve-year-old self just wanted to help bring down the crown at first, but then, well, then my cousin was murdered."

"Wait, cousin?" Ino asked.

"They killed Eiko." Sakura clarified with a frown. "After that, I guess all I wanted was to avenge her death doing whatever I could."

"So- so the attack on Morino, when the king was here-" Ino stuttered.

"That was partly me," Sakura answered with a sigh. "Man, sometimes I think I should just write a book or something."

"We all should," Hinata said with a chuckle. "But I do admit, I'm curious about that day as well. Was it the same death as I?"

"Explosion and poison?" She hummed in thought. "Nah, I don't... I don't think that's how I faked it."

"I can answer that," Noh piped up nonchalantly. "Death by poisoned kunai."

"Bingo, that was it!" Sakura exclaimed. "And then, to really sell it, I was going to fake drowning in the river."

"Well it certainly worked," Ino shivered, uncomfortable with the details all of a sudden. "Your death caused quite a stir in the capital city."

"Really?" She wrinkled her nose. "I mean, my family would've, of course, but..."

"The royal family mourned your death for two whole months," Shikamaru said gravely, "and once the mourning period was over, that only served as a reason for the king to hit Riot harder."

"Aw, geez," Sakura sighed heavily. "So that's why we got attacked so often that autumn. I'm really sorry about that, Mother."

"No harm, as long as you're safe."

Ino glanced between them in confusion. "You... you call Tsunade-sama... 'Mother'?"

"Long story, but yes." The pinkette nodded. "Basically, she became my mentor and mother-figure after I defected, so she just told me to call her Mother."

"What really made me do it was because you spent half your nights crying," Tsunade replied, raising an eyebrow. "You were so lonely, missing your parents, that you made me feel guilty."

Blushing in slight embarrassment, the girl coughed, "A- anyway, you wanted the full story of the attack in May, right?"

"The whole thing, please." Hinata nodded.

"It's gonna be a lengthy story, so strap in," she warned, before taking a deep breath.

"So it all began when my father took us there for a business trip."

* * *

**A/N: To keep the chapter length okay, I'm gonna save Sakura's side for next chapter. Stay tuned!**

**Oh, and as a quick aside, I apologize for not making this clearer earlier, but this book is going to be a bit of a slow burn. It's planned to have at least 40-50 chapters, making it one of the longest books I've ever done (both from a wordcount standpoint and a chapter standpoint). Unfortunately, this means that SasuSaku won't meet for at least another 5-10 chapters. If this makes you give up on this book, I understand, but if you wanna stick around, then great! I hope you still enjoy. If I do end TCSD before this one (which is... unsurprisingly likely), I'll probably forsake the '1 chapter per week' thing in favor of updating every Fri/Sat/Sun. You'll have to, unfortunately, wait for that, though.**

**On a happier note, I think that you'll hopefully enjoy SasuSakuNaru's dynamic once they do meet and interact. Naruto is a ton of fun to write for!**

**Anyways, please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys next week.**


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: Here's the long-awaited second half of the Morino attack, this time Sakura's side of things. Contains a slight bit of emo. See you at the bottom!**

* * *

_Chapter 16: On That Day - Sakura's Story_

* * *

It was a dreary late-spring morning in May, one that saw the Harunos travelling to Morino.

Sakura stared glumly at the scenery as her parents walked. Ever since the miscarriage, everything was dull to her.

Her mother had noticed this and had suggested they go to the forest village, saying it would 'clear the air' between them.

Hah. What a joke. Not even her own mother could disguise her sorrow well. The woman was thirty-six, almost thirty-seven, getting past the age that women were expected to have children, and the loss of her unborn child had damaged her beyond repair. Many days, Sakura caught her just staring helplessly out the window, her hand absently gliding across her stomach, as if trying to feel for something that wasn't there anymore. It wasn't her fault, of course, but the pain of trying so hard to have another baby after years of being barren was too much for her.

_"Nothing will ever help us," _she thought in despair. _"Especially now that I've talked to Iris-sama..."_

Deep down, she mourned what she was going to do. She hated that she was going to thrust the 'death' of their only living child on their already heavily-laden shoulders, but she couldn't see a future for herself in the capital with them.

The loss of her unborn sibling had cut her deeply. She had spent so much time fretting over the health of her mother, especially since they didn't have a lot to eat anyway, and she was actually looking forward to a little brother or sister to love and protect.

Kaede, they were going to name the baby. Mostly for the anticipated birth in early autumn, partly because of her mother's favorite tree. No matter the gender, the baby would have been born to a loving, doting family.

Of course she was still bitter. She was bitter at the world for taking her sibling away from her so quickly. She was bitter at Sasuke's family for taking away her best friend, her cousin Eiko so callously. She was bitter at the fact that their family was poor, even after serving the king from Sakura's birth until eighth birthday. She was bitter that someone who she considered a good friend always had to battle with her over who would be the prince's bride one day.

_"You win, Ino," _she thought wryly, _"he's all yours after today. Chase him all you want."_

She was done playing games. She was done dreaming of a better life, all the while she was spending her nights crying herself to sleep because of the lot she'd drawn. She was done trying to be a Cinderella in a world where fairytale endings didn't exist.

_"Sasuke won't even miss me," _she had told herself over and over again, mostly in a bitter anger. _"All those years spent with him and Naruto in the palace didn't mean a damn thing. He'll probably celebrate my passing, if his parents thought so little of Eiko's death."_

Of course, soon after, she would chide herself for those thoughts. Of course Sasuke would miss her, she reasoned. Of course he'd mourn the death of a childhood friend. Of course he cared. Even though they never spoke anymore, of course he still thought about her. Even though she never talked with him or Naruto anymore, of course he would worry about her. After all, she'd confessed her love for him once upon a time ago, back when they were children. Of course he'd honor her.

_"Stupid," _she scoffed to herself. _"He could've stayed in contact if he wanted. He could've sent me letters, asking about my family and how life was going. He could've sent Naruto as a secret messenger to figure out what's going on. But he didn't. He must have hated me."_

* * *

The little family got to Morino late in the night, when the moon was high above the sleepy little village.

Sakura had excused herself for a little bit to find a place to relieve herself. When she was done, she'd found her parents again and had stopped short at the sight of a cooing bundle in their arms.

Her breath had caught in her throat and had manifested the pain as rising tears when her mother had caught her eye, her own eyes glistening.

"Sakura, you'll never believe it," she'd breathed, showing her the baby's face. "Meet your adopted brother, Arata."

Not _Kaede_, her mind snarked, but _Arata_. Fresh beginnings. How fucking ironic.

"But- but I thought-" she stammered, her heart pounding with hurt at the sight. The baby her mother had lost, replaced with someone else's son-

"We met this sweet young woman who just couldn't take him," her mother explained. "Oh, Sakura, isn't it wonderful? You'll finally get to have a baby brother. Just like you wanted, right? We can finally expand our family."

"No." Her voice even surprised herself, especially the intensity behind that one word. Her mother stepped back, stunned, and her father looked appalled. "_No_."

_Not like this! _Her mind screamed. The tears dribbled down her face, angry and hurt, and she whirled around and ran. _Never like this!_

Her father called after her, but she didn't listen. She just kept running through the trees, watery eyes blurring her vision.

Once her knees gave out and she fell to the grass, her lungs begging for air, she threw her head back and wailed.

She wept, slamming her fists against the ground. Her pain escaped her in the form of shouting sobs and loud hiccups.

She cried for hours, not caring if anyone heard her screams. She wept and wept, both for the infant sibling she never got to meet, _Kaede_, and for the one her parents had adopted.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she blubbered to no one, ripping up whole handfuls of grass in her sorrow. The impact of what she would do wrenched her heart in two and kept her there, kept her tears flowing. "Please, forgive me..."

_"What have I done?" _Her mind despaired. _"Why have I left my family for dead?"_

* * *

She lay there on the forest floor, hiccuping and sniffling, until she was found by Noh, the kind medic who had healed her upon their first meeting. Noh took her to Tsunade's camp, cleaned her up, let her finish crying into her chest, and got her a place to sleep until early the next morning.

Sakura's mood was even lower in the morning. Her emotions were muted, and she just stared blankly at everyone who bade her a good morning. Even Karin, the nice newer recruit they'd garnered from the outskirts of Fire, wasn't of much help to get her to smile. Tsunade had gotten her to spill her guts the night before, and just paid her extra mind, being gentle around her until they were able to get going. It almost felt awkward, like the woman couldn't figure out how to properly comfort her, but she didn't care.

Sakura had choked herself until she was nearly blue in the face that morning in a haze of self-loathing, but Noh had somehow convinced Tsunade to go along with it, and while the blonde woman looked a bit uneasy at the dark purple fingerprints on her skin, she said nothing more and focused on the plan. (She did, however, later declare that she was going to put the girl through counseling with Noh. Again, she didn't care, instead just shrugging loosely. It was too hard to think of anything besides how her family would react, and it made her hate herself even more.)

They made their way to the outskirts of Morino, early enough that no one paid them any mind. Tsunade kept an eye out for the royal troop, and soon enough, she spotted them.

She gave hushed instructions to Troop Nine on what to do, and as soon as they were in place, they lit the first match.

The bombs went off, the explosions rattling the buildings and echoing in the air. The panicked screams of the civilians made Sakura's eyes burn with tears. She noticed her own parents scrambling for shelter among them, her new adopted baby brother wailing in fear, and begged Tsunade to spare them.

She ordered that the safe house that the Harunos were hiding within was not to be destroyed under any circumstances, and with that, the war begun.

Sakura made her way towards where the river was, but for a moment she was in the way of one of the royal soldiers.

She let loose a piercing shriek in surprise, scrambling away. She quietly cursed herself for giving herself away, but she kept running, intent on getting it done.

She vaguely heard familiar voices shouting her name, but she took the knife laced with non-lethal poison and took a deep breath.

The faces of her loved ones flashed before her mind's eye. Her mother and father. Eiko. Her friends. Sasuke.

A single tear rolled down her cheek and she plunged the blade deep into her side, choking back the cry of pain that threatened to escape. Suddenly, something in her snapped, and she dragged it through her hair, the blood staining her scalp. The pink-blonde tresses began to stain a deep crimson as it slowly dribbled down her head. Something about the pain seemed... releasing, somehow. As if she were atoning for the sins she had committed. She began to wail as she did so, the sharp pain helping her sudden catharsis. She knew it was fucked up, but in the moment, it felt right. Not even the slight sting of the chemical could force her to stop.

She cried softly as a single trickle of blood ran down her forehead. She threw the knife down and hung her head in shame. What had she done? It was overkill, and perhaps would be a bit suspicious, but she reasoned with herself that it was nothing but a stress-relief.

Her clothing was already ripped from her trip through the brush the night before, and so, with the wound in her side bleeding heavily, she choked out a "Goodbye" and, spreading her arms open wide, plunged herself into the river with a painful belly-flop. Her wounds screamed in pain, but she held her tongue, her tears silently hitting the rippling water.

She did her best to keep as still as possible, head enough to the side so that she didn't have to hold her breath, as she floated lazily down, making herself totally limp.

Soon enough, to her horror, she heard Sasuke's voice shouting her name.

"Sakura! Sakura!"

_"No... he- _he isn't supposed to see this_!"_

When she heard his footsteps crunching closer, her heart ached as she heard him gasp.

_"Sasuke... please, run away!"_

A thud - he'd probably fallen to his knees on the rocks.

_"DON'T STAY HERE! DON'T LOOK AT ME!"_

"No. No. _No. No_." She heard him mumbling. "_No_."

After a moment of only his shallow breathing, she heard him shriek, a sound that broke her heart. "_**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**_!"

"Stay still," she heard the hissed voice of one of their soldiers. "Prince Uchiha Sasuke, you are hereby under arrest under the orders of the Iris!"

"NOOOOOO!" He continued to scream. Sakura felt tears dribbling down her face, and she had to try her hardest not to begin to whimper aloud. "AHHHHH- AAH- _GYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH_!"

She allowed herself one muted sob when she heard him cry, "_**SAAAAAAAAAAAKUUURAAAAAAAA**_!"

Only after he screamed did she hear another thud.

At that point, she couldn't hold in her trembling. Her limbs shook, rippling the water as her back began to heave in and out.

"Sakura, it's all clear," the agent was comforting as she was pulled out of the water. "Dear oh dear, you really did a number on yourself. Don't worry, you're safe now."

She opened her eyes through the blood in her vision and began to bawl harder than ever before for the second time in 24 hours, curling into the soldier's chest next to the unconscious body of someone she'd loved. Her shrieking sobs echoed around the carnage, even as Tsunade caught her in her warm arms, getting little blotches of blood on her cloak as the little thirteen-year-old girl wept bitterly into her warmth.

_"Forgive me for this, Sasuke."_

* * *

"And... yeah, that's- that's pretty much it." She finished, wiping her eyes. The story got her every time. "After we captured him, Mother was going to torture him for information, but as you've heard, I asked her to let him go."

"More like begged," the blonde in question chimed in. "Sakura was so distraught that we were going to interrogate him, she refused to leave his side until we promised to take him back to Morino."

"I guess it worked?" Sakura grinned weakly. "I mean, had he come to and realized that I was there, it would've thrown away all of the planning we'd worked so hard for. It would've made my death meaningless. That, and I felt like _trash_ because he saw me in the water.

"Actually, still on that topic, it was strange." She hummed in thought. "While he was with us, even though he woke up at some point, he was totally shut down. He didn't respond to anything anyone did, so we just wrapped him in a spare blanket and I left him on the outskirts of town."

Ino stared at her, crestfallen, a guilty frown on her face. "You... you went through so much... and nothing we could've done would've ever changed your mind?"

"No." Sakura shook her head. "The whole reason I left was to avenge my family and take down the corrupted Uchihas while I was at it. Nothing you could've said would have swayed me to a different path.

"I will get my vengeance for Eiko, and I will make sure Arata grows up in a world that won't reject him as soon as it can. If it takes the death of his older sister, then so be it."

* * *

**A/N: So there you go. Another heavy backstory, feat a slightly emo Sakura.**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys next week."**


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N: This is yet another angsty chapter, but this time it'll focus on two background characters (that I swear I haven't forgotten the plot line for)!**

* * *

_Chapter 17: Solemn Dreams_

* * *

The moon hung, still, in the sky, shining over the broken village.

As everyone slept, one woman tossed and turned in her bedroll.

* * *

"My love, words can't express how ecstatic I am that we're finally married," the brunette exclaimed, giggling happily in the arms of a taller man.

"I'm just so glad your parents accepted." The man laughed, gazing into the face of his bride with love in his coal eyes. "Now we can have the family we always dreamed of having."

"Yes, indeed," she sighed dreamily, resting her head on his broad chest. "Oh, we'll have three - no, four kids! And a cute two-story cottage by the river in Morino for the summer months."

"We'll finally be able to fill that house my uncle gifted us as a wedding present." He nodded in agreement, carrying her over the threshold of their front door. "Oh, I'm just so excited!"

She laughed once more, pressing a kiss to his cheek as he let her stand up. She looked around the house, her eyes wide with wonder. "When you mentioned that he'd given us our home, you never told me it was this expansive!"

"Well, I like to think I'm one of his more favored nephews," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

The couple walked upstairs, only to find four doors.

"Let's see..." The man squinted, pointing to the first door on the right. "That's a bedroom," he pointed next to the one on the left, "that's a bathroom," he pointed towards the door on the far right, "that's another bedroom, and finally," he pointed to the one on the far left with a blush, "that's the master bedroom."

"Well take me on a tour, hon," she winked playfully, linking her arm in his.

He took her to their new bedroom, only to find it already furnished with luxurious ebony furniture.

"Whoa, they went all out!" She gasped, racing over to the bed as fast as she could in her wedding gown and heels. "Look, look! It's bouncy!"

She plopped right onto it, the mattress making her bounce a couple of centimeters in the air. She giggled, bouncing a few more times. "The bed is bouncy! This is a dream come true!"

He rose one eyebrow, giving her a wolfish grin. "It's bouncy, you say?"

"Come and try it," she replied, her voice dropping an octave as she gave him an alluring stare.

He went over to the other side and jumped onto it, launching her at least a foot off of it.

She landed with a cry of surprise, right next to him, and the two just looked at each other, wide-eyed, for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

When the fit subsided, she wiped at her eye gingerly, trying not to smudge her makeup. She rolled onto her side, giving him a loving smile. "This is it, Obi, we're finally married."

"We are," he agreed, trailing a finger down her cheek, "and I intend to make you the happiest girl in this kingdom every step of the way."

She shivered when she felt his breath on her face. "I love you so much, Obito..."

"And I, you, Rin," he whispered in the second before he met her lips with his in a passionate kiss.

* * *

The woman startled awake with a sharp intake of air, trembling as she sat up in bed.

She breathed heavily, trying to smooth away the hair stuck to her sweaty face and neck. She glanced around in the dark at her companions.

_Rin_... the name brought back many memories, most of them good, but the heavy pain of losing him made it too much to bear.

Tears pooled in her eyes and she covered her face with her hands, trying not to make a sound. Her back shuddered with the silent sobs, and as she heard someone shift in the dark she decided to go up to get some fresh air.

She slowly made her way towards the ladder and pushed up the floorboards. As soon as she was up, she carefully lowered them again and made her way to the front door.

She paused in the empty doorway to stare up at the moon, the tears still dribbling down her cheeks.

She sighed aloud, kneeling beside the doorway on the dirt outside. "Oh, Obito... not a day goes by that I don't miss you more than I can bear.

"I never even got the chance to tell you that I was pregnant," she continued quietly, her back wracked with sobs. "My baby... _our son_... he looked so much like you I just couldn't- I couldn't do it, Obito. I couldn't raise him without _you_."

She paused to try and breathe more evenly, her hands balled into fists in her lap. She touched the necklace that hung around her damp neck, the one she'd received from him as a wedding present. The chain had long since turned a rusty copper color, but the jewels were just as vibrant as they had been only seven years before. The amethyst and citrine stones on each side of the Uchiha fan were just as beautiful, just as clear, as if she'd received them yesterday.

She licked her lips and continued. "I often wonder what we would be doing now had you never been summoned. Would we have had more children, as we always dreamed of? Would you still be a soldier, or would you have retired on your family's money?"

She shook her head, her bark-brown hair wet from her tears. "I haven't gotten over it. I haven't been able to end my mourning period, because... because it's unfair.

"It's not fair that they took you away from me when we were just beginning our life together," she spoke harshly, her sorrow ebbing away to the righteous anger she'd carried. "It's not fair that they decided you were fit to leave your new family and destroy your life in one fell swoop. It's not fair that your child would have had to grow up without a loving father."

She shuddered through her sobs, wiping her eyes the best she could. "Obito... why did you have to leave me? Why did you have to die?"

She sat there, weeping, for what seemed like hours. The hole in her heart ached so badly she couldn't stop.

"I'm so pathetic, Obi," she sobbed. "I pray that you can forgive me for casting aside my name- for casting aside your family's _godforsaken_ name... I just can't bear to go as an Uchiha when your own _uncle _is the one who sent you to die."

_"How pathetic am I," _she mused wryly, _"that even hearing that name makes me revert back to that weak twenty-year-old again."_

When she began to tire, and her tears had begun to dry, she heard a soft voice behind her. "Noh?"

She turned to see Tsunade standing at the door, a concerned frown on her face.

"Is everything okay?" She asked quietly, crouching beside her.

"No," Noh admitted, sniffling. "I- I had that dream again. The day we married."

Tsunade's chocolate eyes softened, and she sat down beside her, a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so pathetic," she whimpered, trying to dry her eyes again. "Just hearing that name makes me weep like a heartbroken teenager."

"You were young and in love," Tsunade comforted, rubbing her back. "Not quite a teenager, but not quite a world-wisened woman. I would have been concerned had you not been grieving."

She shook her head, gazing at Tsunade with a deep sadness in her eyes. "It's been seven years, Tsunade. _Seven years_, and not a day goes by that I don't think about him."

The blonde stayed silent as she listened.

"The official mourning period has been over for so long, and yet... and yet I can't stop." Noh continued, her hands shaking. "What's the matter with me? Why is it so hard to let go?"

Finally, the older blonde woman sighed. "Have I ever told you about my boyfriend?"

Noh frowned. "You mean Jiraiya?"

"No, not him." Tsunade shook her head with a snort. "I don't think we've ever dated seriously. No, I'm talking about my first love.

"It was right after my brother had died," she recalled. "I was just a teenager back then, and Fire was still in its warring factions. My grandfather was still alive and still trying to show Madara Uchiha that we could both live in harmony.

"Well, after one battle, I met this boy." Her eyes began to water as she thought, but she wiped the tears away. "His name was Dan. He was one of the starry-eyed new recruits, and all he wanted was to bring both sides together and end the war peacefully."

"And then?"

"Well, for a while, we were friends." She chuckled. "He was helping me after my brother's death, and at some point, I guess it just... became love.

"One night, after a particularly nasty skirmish with the Uchihas, he pulled me aside and confessed his intention to take my grandfather's side and become the second Hokage and protect everyone. I was so moved, because... well, he reminded me so much of Nawaki, that I gave him my grandfather's necklace and I kissed him for good luck."

Once her face hardened, Noh swallowed the lump in her throat. "You mean he..."

"The next week, he was involved in a battle much bloodier than any other we'd seen." Tsunade replied, her voice flat. "No matter how hard I tried to save him, I... I couldn't. He died in my arms."

She rose her hands to stare at them in the moonlight. "For a very, very long time, I've had a phobia of blood. I can't stand it - it takes me back to that day. Before Madara created the Uchiha monarchy, before we were forced into rebellion, before- before things were so much more complicated."

"I'm so sorry," Noh said, reaching out to hug her.

"Don't be, I'm just telling you this story so that you can understand." Tsunade patted her on the back. "We've all experienced loss in some form or another in this group. You've lost your husband, I lost my brother, Sakura lost her cousin, Karin lost her mother, we've all lost something. No matter how hard you try to hide it, it will come through at some point."

She sighed, giving the girl a smile. "You're still young. You've still got hopes, dreams, inside you, I hope. Don't let this world kill them before they've even had a chance to take root... and if you have to mourn loss, then mourn. We all understand what you're going through, even if some of us have lost more than others."

Sleepiness was beginning to take hold on the woman's body, and she tried to smile tiredly at Tsunade. "Thank you... for everything."

"That's my job," the blonde chuckled, allowing her to pass out in her arms. "Now sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us."

* * *

He'd ran as fast as he could the moment he saw it. The letter hastily scribbled, left on the cold wooden dining table, teardrops dotting the paper. It had made his heart jump into his throat and his stomach to drop.

For a few minutes of blind panic, he just couldn't figure out where she'd gone. But then he read it over again, and he knew. Oh, he knew.

The only place he could think of with a cliff was at the edge of the village, near the waterfall that served as their prime source of clean water.

His chest heaved hard, his heartbeat fluttering as he finally skidded to a stop near the cliff, and he saw her standing right at the edge, gazing down into the rushing waters below.

Tears pricked his eyes, but he furiously wiped them away and shouted at her. "Rin, stop!"

She startled in that second at the volume and intensity of his voice, and instead of turning to face him, she slipped, falling, her shrieks piercing the air as she disappeared off of the cliff.

"_RIN_!" He screamed, racing to the edge. He watched her struggle underwater and he almost dove in after her, but at the last moment her hands slipped under and she was gone.

He let out an angry roar, punching the ground.

"Rin," he choked out, his eyes watering faster than he could wipe them away, "I... I didn't mean to... I- I'm sorry-!"

* * *

Kakashi sat up at the same moment his heart skipped a beat, cold sweat blanketing the back of his neck. He shivered in the cool of the night, massaging his forehead with his hands as he tried to get the dream out of his head.

"Rin," he whispered, clenching his eyes shut in pain.

Her death had been unfair. So unfair. First he loses his good friend Obito to the war with Riot, and then Minato and Kushina (the former of whom he considered his second father) in the explosion that took out the bridge, and then he was forced to watch as the girl whom he'd realized he loved fall to her watery death.

If he just hadn't shouted at her, if he'd instead been more tactful...

He allowed himself a couple of minutes to weep quietly at the memory, Obito's eye burning behind his headband.

Her beaming face filled his mind as he gazed up at the moon. It reminded him of the brightness in her eyes when they'd been growing up with Obito.

His lips went into a wry smile as Obito's pre-teenage voice came to mind. The boy had been so sensitive about his limited abilities that he always pulled reckless feats to try and impress their female friend. Guess it had worked in the end. He was the one she'd fallen in love with. Kakashi was forever trapped as her best friend.

"Rin," he breathed again, letting out a shuddery sigh, "oh how I wish you could be here. Perhaps... perhaps this war would have been over a long time ago. Perhaps you could've forgiven me for my crimes against you both."

_"I promised him that I would protect her," _he thought in despair, lying back down in his bag. _"If I ever meet them in the afterlife, I hope Obito doesn't beat me too mercilessly for letting her die."_

* * *

**A/N: Yep! Just in case you haven't already guessed by the totally-unoriginal naming, Noh is just the first three letters of Rin's last name. Yep, she's Rin. And totally alive. And also aged down, because well, I can do that.**

**Also, Kakashi! He's a rather complicated character, but I adore him to pieces. Don't worry, their whole subplot is gonna be a big one towards the end. And yes, I'm pretty sure you know where that line is going.**

**Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys next week!**


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N: Heyo! Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

_Chapter 18: Dreams of Peace_

* * *

Jiraiya stopped in early the next morning to surprise Tsunade.

"Hey, Tsu!" He chirped when she walked outside, already having a bowl of porridge in his hands. "Morning, sunshine! Geez, you look like you haven't been sleeping well lately. You good?"

"I'm fine, Jiraiya," she muttered, giving the man a smile when he gave her the bowl. She said 'thank you' and began to eat slowly. "Just... nightmares, crying, worrying about the Uchihas, the usual stuff."

He frowned, the wrinkles underneath his eyes growing more pronounced. She hated them. They were both nearing fifty-seven, and while she hadn't seen Orochimaru in a decade, she still hated that their looks were catching up to their ages.

She, herself, used a technique that kept her looking not a day over twenty-six, but it was more because she wanted to disguise herself just in case she was ever caught.

"Nobody would ever suspect a fifty-year-old woman to look so good, right?" she'd reasoned once with a guffaw. "They'd be suspecting some old grandma, not someone who looks like someone who just earned the right to drink."

Jiraiya hadn't accepted her offer of keeping him looking young, claiming, "Nobody's gonna suspect me of anything! C'mon, I'm Naruto's godfather, for Kami's sake! Fugaku should trust me."

True, at one point in time he had been a mole for Riot, but the day Naruto's parents died, he was dispelled from the castle and made a member of a wandering troop whose only purpose was to sniff out Riot camps to report to the king. Obviously, he bailed as soon as he realized, but unfortunately, that also meant he could never check in on Naruto to see how he was coping.

_"Preteenagers are especially susceptible to long-term depression after losing someone they love," _Tsunade mused as she swallowed another bite of porridge. _"It's a wonder he's been coping at all, what with that brooding Uchiha heir he's friends with."_

Jiraiya sat beside her, silently gazing off into the distance towards the forest.

Once Tsunade was done, she set the bowl down beside her knee and leaned into his shoulder. "What are you thinking about?"

He glanced down at her, his eyes soft. "It's amazing, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"That after all this time, after all we've gone through, you've come out of it... so amazing."

She blinked, looking up at him. "That's your takeaway? That I'm tough?"

"Yes and no," he replied. "Do you remember when we were cadets?"

"What, in old man Hiruzen's troop?" She snorted. "Of course I do. You never left that poor man alone."

He chuckled in response. "Yeah, I was a little meathead back then."

She smiled, amused. "I still remember the first time we convinced Orochimaru to play a prank on him. Remember, with the snakes?"

"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that one!" The white-haired man barked a laugh. "Hey, now before you go blaming me for it, it was just as much your idea as mine once I mentioned the sake."

"I'd have done anything for a drink, and you knew that!" She retorted playfully, nudging him. "I still wish we could've apologized properly."

"Don't go feeling bad about it now." Jiraiya wrapped an arm around her, bringing her in closer. "It's all in the past."

The smile slid off of her face when she remembered. "Yeah... now that he's gone, I guess we won't get to apologize now."

Jiraiya frowned once more, heaving a sigh. "C'mon, Tsunade, where's that tough-as-nails spitfire I remember from our training days? Where's the girl that would punch me over a kilometer away when you caught me peeping?"

"So you do admit it," she remarked dryly.

He rolled his eyes, his face heating up. "I've told you before, and I'll tell you again, Tsunade. I really do care about you. More than you know."

She leaned into his embrace, closing her eyes. A sense of safety washed over her when she smelled the scent of pine in his clothes. "I know, Jiraiya. I know."

"And no matter what happens, I'm loyal to you and only you," he continued, resting his hand gently in her hair. She was a little grimy, but considering the circumstances, it didn't bother him at all. "Even if we never reunite with Oro, I will never leave you."

She merely hummed in response.

The two basked in the moment for a few minutes, before Sakura came around the corner and peeked underneath the awning.

"Oh, Jiraiya-sama!" She quickly bowed at the waist to him when they both looked up at her. "Sorry if I interrupted anything. Uh, Mother, we need help with a couple of children. Reports say that they accidentally fell into some rubble and we need to make sure they don't get ill from their injuries."

"Sure, I'll be right there." She nodded to the pinkette as she left. The blonde woman sighed quietly, looking up at Jiraiya with a grin. "Well, duty calls."

"I'll be back for dinner," he promised, allowing her to stand up. "Expect a full report soon."

"That and some fish," she said, giving him a wink before heading off in the same direction that Sakura had.

He watched her go with an almost forlorn look in his eyes. He got up, grunting at the slight pain in his legs. With another glance towards where she'd gone, he sprinted off into the trees for a quick scout to get his mind off of her.

* * *

Noh sang a little tune under her breath as she helped with a small child who'd accidentally spilled boiling water on herself while trying to make breakfast that morning. So far, the burns weren't as bad as they'd initially looked, but the woman still felt awful telling the little girl that it would be weeks before her skin was healed properly, and even then, it would never look or feel the same.

"_And I gave you love, so you gave me love_," she sang the chorus again as she gingerly patted the girl's back. "There you are. Just be careful, take it easy with the chores for a couple of weeks, and make sure you come check in with me every morning and night so that I can properly change your bandages."

The girl nodded, giving her a small 'thank you' before turning and running off, back to her ragged father. He nodded tiredly to the woman before leading his daughter back inside their ramshackle house.

She sighed to herself. "_When we looked to the stars, I said I love you, you said you were mine_."

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kisame asked, mildly concerned, as Itachi lifted up both his pack and the tent bundle.

"I was trained to take over the royal guard on my eighteenth birthday," Itachi replied simply. "This is easy."

"If you say so..." The older man trailed off as they went. "How do you suppose we go about this?"

"It's fairly simple. We must get in, scope out the capital, and report." The soft-spoken man stated monotonously. "If we must take care of any spies, then we shall."

The bigger man shrugged loosely, pausing to adjust the sword on his back.

_"Kami forbid I ever be forced to have to betray Itachi," _he thought to himself with the slightest shiver up and down his back at the look of those crimson irises. _"If he would kill his loved ones for the greater good... I don't even want to think about what he would do to colleagues."_

* * *

**A/N: You finally get some JiraTsu cuteness! It's one of the only ships I cried for at the end of the arc. Jiraiya deserved so much better!**

**Tell me what you thought, see you guys next week!**


	20. Chapter 19

**A/N: Here's the next one! I've been having a spark of creativity lately, so I've been trying to write as much as I can.**

* * *

_Chapter 19: Growing Shadows_

* * *

The heat of the day had dwindled as the sun set, bathing the desolate place in hues of gold. The shadows grew, as did the exhaustion.

Fugaku stared in a haze out the grand floor-length windows in the throne room at the sunset. While beautiful, it only served to increase the dread in his veins.

"'Gaku," Mikoto's sweet voice came from behind as she wrapped her arms around him, resting her forehead on his shoulder. "Dinner is ready. Won't you come and eat?"

"Sure, in a minute," he replied dazedly, hardly noticing when she pressed a kiss to the top of his spine. As her feather-light footsteps faded from the great hall, his thoughts returned.

* * *

"Fugaku, I trust that your spies have found the hideaway of those damned rebels, correct?" The man's growling voice had sent a shiver down his back, one that made his heart clench in fear.

"Y- yes, we have. We have reason to believe that they're hiding near Morino."

"Excellent. I want the entire town to be destroyed. No survivors. Am I understood?"

"... Yes, sir."

* * *

His heart ached when he thought of Morino. The once beautiful town had been reduced to nothing but splinters and ash. Morino had been the town he'd met Mikoto in, it'd been the vacation spot they'd always visited each summer. Hell, Sasuke was meant to inherit a sizely townhouse in Morino for him and his wife once he became king.

But of course, nothing could be simple anymore. Not since the attack. Not since Sasuke had been kidnapped. Not since his young friends had been a casualty.

_Tch_. His eyebrows dipped low into a frown when he thought about Akio and his wife. The filthy traitor had it coming, although a wave of dull hurt came back at the thought of having to kill a dear friend and his family.

"It was duty," he'd tried to argue with himself for weeks after. "Had I not killed him, he would've tried to get revenge for the death of his sons. Killing him was a mercy."

Sasuke had been so desolate about his childhood friends dying, especially Sakura - he just didn't have the heart to touch Morino any more than he needed to.

But then, _he_ came to them. _He_ trapped Fugaku and his family underneath his thumb, claiming to know the future and offering to make their kingdom greater. It was _he_ who had forced him to act, to grow hasty against Riot in the months afterward. He didn't like it, of course, but he couldn't brush away the glimmer of satisfaction whenever they caught a rebel, or when they wiped out a troop.

Troop Nine had been the tip of the iceberg. Now that they'd been wiped out, the rest of the group had been falling steadily. Not as quickly as he'd like, but hey, progress was progress.

_"Speaking of progress,"_ he mused to himself as he turned to exit the throne room. He made a note to thank Kakashi and his soldiers soon. Had it not been for them, they probably wouldn't have actually come into contact with the rebel leader Tsunade.

He paused upon opening one of the doors when he saw Mikoto standing by.

She looked up at him with a bright smile. "Took you long enough to stop daydreaming," she teased as she took his arm, leaning against him. "If you stalled even a few moments more, I think Naruto would just start eating our portions too."

Fugaku melted at his wife's warmth, chuckling softly at the mention of the irate blond. "He's always had an appetite for Mido's food, hasn't he? We'd better hurry, then."

* * *

"Aah, now that hit the spot!" Karin sighed in content, pushing her bowl away. "You never told me you were so good at roasting fish, Yamanaka."

Said blonde giggled modestly, looking away. "Well, what can I say? Fish was probably lesson number three, coming behind rice and tea."

"Speaking of, how's your mother?" Sakura asked. "Is she doing well?"

"Oh, she's fine." Ino paused for a moment. "Well, she was fine when I left her, anyway. I can only imagine what she's doing now."

The pinkette nodded her head slowly. "People are going missing from their home towns so much anymore. At least she'd have a bit of solace in the fact that you're just missing."

Ino gave her a grim look.

Silence sat between them for a few moments before Hinata appeared around the side of the building with a serene smile.

"Good evening, may I join you?" She asked.

"Of course, milady- I mean, Hinata." Sakura patted the spot beside her with a smile. "We were just about to get some tea."

"Oh, is that so?" The lady turned to go. "I can get that for you-"

"No, no, please, I insist." Sakura interrupted, hopping to her feet. She ushered the girl to a seat. "I'll go get it."

Hinata was slightly confused, yet she nodded in agreement as Sakura rushed off.

Karin chuckled to herself. "She's stubborn when she wants to be, I think you'll find."

"I'm already seeing it," Hinata agreed, though with no malice in her voice. She smiled softly to herself. "She... she reminds me of Naruto. The way he used to be."

The redhead nodded absently to herself. "When I was in the palace, he... didn't really smile much. At least, not that I've seen. He seems older than his years."

"He has to be," Ino agreed solemnly, folding her hands in her lap. "His parents both died when he was eleven, and he had to deal with Sasuke getting kidnapped and Sakura's false death."

Looking to Hinata, she continued, "And when you faked your own death, I visited him and Sasuke soon afterward. He was absolutely devastated."

The Hyuuga blinked in stunned silence. Her mouth opened for a moment, then shut. Then she opened it again. "He- he mourned... o- over me?"

"Are you kidding?" She stared at the girl as if she were crazed. "You really don't know just how much he cared about you, do you? When I went to see him, you know what he told me? He said he wished he could've found a way to save you. He really liked you."

Her cheeks heated up as she mulled it over. While she'd pined from a distance ever since she'd first met him when they were children, she never actually thought he'd noticed her. While a great part of her heart was pleased that he noticed her enough to be saddened about her death, but... but a greater part knew that he mourned her as a future queen whose life was tragically 'cut short' because of a tempestuous political standoff.

She tried her best not to show the conflicted hurt she felt deep inside. With a sigh, she nodded. "I suppose I don't know him as well as I thought I did."

Ino shrugged. "He wears his heart on his sleeve, or at least he used to. He's a good kid with a good heart; just got dragged into bloody business against his wishes."

The group found themselves grateful that Sakura chose that moment to appear with a crude tray of teacups in her hands.

"Fresh from the reserve pack!" She chirped, handing each girl her cup of steaming tea.

"Thanks, Forehead." Ino gave her a wink as she sat back down, her own cup in hand.

Sakura groaned dramatically. "You're still gonna call me that? I'll have you know I've grown into my fivehead, thank you very much!"

The blonde chuckled as the girl nudged her playfully. "C'mon, Sak, can't I rib my best friend a little? It's been six years, after all."

"Yes, I suppose it has." The pinkette mused into her cup as she took a tentative sip. She gave a quiet groan of satisfaction as she swallowed the hot liquid. "Aw man, now that hits it just right."

* * *

Hinata yawned into her sleeve as she ducked into her shared space with Sakura. Said girl was already stripped of most of her clothing, and the young woman caught only a glimpse of her wrapped chest and a flash of a red tattoo on her right bicep before she squeaked in surprise, turning away.

"My apologies, I didn't realize you were still changing." She said, fidgeting with her shirt.

"Hm?" Sakura turned to look over, pausing in pulling on her camoflauge pants. "Oh, nah, that's okay. It's only patrol gear. I mean, if it helps, the longer you stay the more you get used to it. Not much in terms of 'privacy' when you're on the run, heh."

Said girl nodded quickly. She almost wanted to look again, to see what those red markings were, but she firmly decided not to, for fear of how she'd react.

Sakura shook her head with an amused smile. As soon as she pulled her shirt on, she stood from the bedroll. "I'm done, if you wanna turn around."

As soon as Hinata did, her face was an embarrassed, fiery red, and her pale eyes looked just about everywhere that Sakura wasn't. She was nervous, her reflexes screaming at her to get out before the girl regarded her with disgust at her quick stare.

The girl walked past her, pausing to pat the top of her head softly.

"Don't worry so much, my lady," Sakura said, voice soft. Her eyes were gentle, sympathetic, almost as if she understood. "Nobody's gonna lynch you for seeing things you shouldn't here."

With an angel-soft peck on Hinata's cheek, the pinkette was gone, leaving behind a confused young woman, her hand holding the side she'd kissed.

* * *

The night was black, the absence of the moonlight making it all the more ominous. Normally, Sakura wasn't afraid to patrol, but tonight... tonight, something uneasy settled in the pit of her stomach, and it wasn't nausea from the callbacks of the last time they'd been caught - and almost captured - in this kind of darkness.

Her sharp eyes darted around the tiny lookout spot, listening intently. So far, the only sounds she heard were the common chirping of the crickets, the soft rustling of the leaves in the trees, and the faint gush of the river nearby.

_"The same river I sealed my fate forever in..." _she thought to herself, a shiver going up her spine. It had taken her a long, long time to get over the sick feeling that rivers gave her, but she prided herself on being tougher than some water. Unfortunately, sometimes, the feeling crept back - the helpless terror of having to listen to your childhood best friend - and crush - react to your 'death' in such a raw, heart-wrenching way.

She sighed soundlessly, rubbing her eyes. The night was still young, she reasoned, and she couldn't risk growing careless. They may have made a daring escape only a week before, but she just couldn't shake the feeling that the king wasn't done with them yet.

_"He's been toying with us," _she thought with a frown. _"Luring us into a false sense of security, and then, just when we least expect it, he'll strike. I'd expect no less from Sasuke's father."_

She startled then, at the sudden rustling of the bushes nearby. She whirled around, fingers darting to her hidden kunai knife, silently daring whoever it was to move.

Thankfully, she deflated only a few moments later at the sight of a squirrel rushing along the forest floor, and she momentarily chided herself for being so jumpy.

_"C'mon, Sakura, get a grip with yourself." _She scolded herself. _"It's just lookout. You've done this nearly every night without fail for the last four, five years."_

She breathed a small chuckle to herself, watching the trees. Thankfully, she hood she wore concealed the bright pink of her hair, and from her position in the shadows, even some of the king's troops couldn't see her. Unfortunately, for the skilled ones, such as Hatake Kakashi, the infamous Copy Nin...

... well, she'd do well not to get caught by his squadron. Especially concerning _that _eye of his.

* * *

**A/N: Just a little bit of a hint at Sakura's feelings. Personally, I've always thought that she's kinda bi and ready to try, but that's just me. ;3**

**Anyway, please tell me what you thought! See you next week.**


	21. Chapter 20

**A/N: This may seem kinda short, but it'll be more action-packed.**

* * *

_Chapter 20: Premonition_

* * *

The hours had grown tiresome for the teenager. She found herself yawning uncontrollably when Karin showed up to take over for her. She hardly remembered the sleepy jaunt back to the safe house, back to her nice, warm bedroll. Hell, she didn't even take off her clothes. She kicked off her sandals and collapsed, not even stirring when Hinata lifted her head tiredly to peek over at her.

Soon enough, though, the ex-heiress fell back asleep herself, and before either of them knew it, they were back safely in the dream world.

* * *

She huffed and puffed, trying to keep up with Tsunade. She was thirteen again, her hair a choppy shoulder-length strawberry-blonde, her skin slowly retaining its former healthy glow. Tsunade had kept her busy and had fed her well - so much better than she'd ever remembered. Said blonde woman's twin ponytails fluttered in front of her, the exercise hardly making her break a sweat.

"Sharp left at the Knotwood up ahead," Tsunade called over her shoulder.

"Copy," Sakura replied promptly.

There wasn't anything quite like running through the trees, with the wind running through your hair, the cool breeze hitting your skin like the shock of a cold bath in the lake. She savored every single moment with the biggest of closed-lip smiles, as big as she could manage.

She closed her eyes for just a couple of seconds, but when she opened them again, Tsunade was beside her, eyes sparked with sharp alertness, and the tree (that had been dubbed the 'Knotwood' for its gnarled, jagged branches) was nowhere in sight.

"Tsunade-sensei?" Sakura asked, slightly concerned.

Said woman quickly hushed her, taking her arm and leading her away into the trees.

"Sorry for cutting it short, but... we're being followed." The look in her eyes was strange; it wasn't like anything Sakura had seen before. It somehow seemed... otherworldly, as if 'Tsunade' wasn't herself.

Her eyes widened for a moment. Somewhere within, she felt herself stirring in the real world, and she understood that she was dreaming. Some feeling akin to floating midair began to overtake her body, and she felt herself begin to shift to third-person view, but she tried to ignore it.

"Sakura, I need you to wake up." Tsunade urgently looked around for a moment before shaking her, her face going from alarmed to downright panicked. "Right now. Wake up."

"What's going on?" She asked, grabbing Tsunade's arms. "What's happening?"

"You're being attacked, wake up!" Tsunade suddenly shouted. "Wake up!"

Sakura shook her head, somehow not quite grasping it. "What are you talking about?"

She could feel herself slipping through the cracks; she didn't feel quite as rooted in her dream anymore, and she could vaguely feel someone shaking her roughly.

A slurry of voices echoed around her, mostly the ones of her squad. She recognized Tsunade's and Hinata's among the horde, and strangely someone else. A boy's, switching rapidly between a child's soprano and a teenager's baritone.

By the time she recognized the male voice as Sasuke's, she was almost gone.

With one last exasperated shout of "_Sakura_!" she awoke, gasping and sweaty.

Hinata was straddling her, hands gripping her shoulders with a painful firmness she didn't know the woman even had.

"I'm sorry to wake you up like this, but- but-" The noirette stumbled over her words for a moment. "- but I feel like we're going to be-"

"Attacked? I know," Sakura interrupted, eyes wide and alert, darting around the little room. "I had a dream."

"... me too." Hinata hesitated, but she crawled off, already dressed in the travelling cloak that Tsunade had sewn for her. "We need to hurry. I already alerted Senju-sama."

Nodding rapidly, Sakura jumped out of bed, pulled on her sandals, and packed quicker than she had in her entire life. All of her belongings were either in her backpack or in a tight bundle in two minutes flat, and before long she was dragging the heiress out of the safehouse.

Nearby, Tsunade stood with a couple of soldiers, talking in hushed, concerned tones.

When she spotted them, she nodded in appraisal. "Good, you both are up. Karin spotted someone with the Konoha hitai-ate a few minutes ago. The others are being awoken. We need to be all packed and ready to get the hell out of here in ten minutes, or else we run the risk of getting caught again."

"Hai." Sakura saluted her sharply, turning to Hinata with her bag in hand. "Please look after my luggage while I'm gone."

"Of course." Hinata agreed, slipping Sakura's pack over her back. Then, hesitantly, "... Be careful. Please."

"Swear with my life, my lady." The teasing grin the pinkette gave her almost seemed too bright, considering the situation. But quick as a flash, it was gone, and so was Sakura, the only traces being the breeze left after her.

* * *

"Alright, alright, who are we searching for?" Sakura asked Noh as she crouched beside the woman. "Is it the Copycat?"

"Kami forbid," she answered tightly, scanning the area. "But we shouldn't be too careless. We haven't found a trace of him yet, but the moment we see him, we need to run. He's just too dangerous to face head-on without the Akatsuki present."

"We have Pein and Konan," the pinkette shrugged.

"As a distraction," Noh reminded. Her lips were drawn into a tight line, her eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown. "I've no doubt he would be able to take them down in a lucky match."

Karin appeared beside them, the faint light reflected off of her glasses. "We need to leave. Everyone is ready and packed."

"Tsunade's orders?"

A pause. Then, "We leave the villagers behind."

"All of us?" Noh demanded, staring at her as if she'd grown another head.

"No, not all. I'm staying behind to make sure they continue to have care." Karin shook her head, the hood shifting. A bright red lock or two of hair fell out of the garment, and she tucked them back in.

Sakura held out her hand, and the redhead squeezed it tightly for a moment. Grassy eyes met ruby, and after a few seconds, both nodded their heads.

"Stay safe, firebird," Sakura whispered as she pulled the girl in for a hug. "Don't let 'em rough you up too badly."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Violet-chan." Karin squeezed her eyes shut in a solemn glare until they both pulled away. "Stick it to the Uchihas for me. For us."

Another nod of her head.

Noh touched her shoulder. "Let's go."

* * *

"We need to set course for the capital," Tsunade explained as they stood together in the shadows of a nearby tree. She turned her stare to Sakura, "You need to go in as Hayashi."

Her mouth went dry, and she swallowed harshly. "N- now?"

"If not now, we may not get this chance again." Tsunade's voice was low as she glanced between the group and the quiet little village. "Now c'mon. I've already sent word ahead to the group near Konoha to make sure they prepare. If we leave right now with no stops, we should be there by dawn."

* * *

**A/N: See you next week!**


	22. Chapter 21

**A/N: Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

_Chapter 21: Flight to Konoha_

* * *

At four in the morning, just before dawn, the first kunai was thrown.

Pein narrowed his eyes at the trees, motioning to Konan. "The Copycat is here."

"So soon?" She sighed, reaching for her pouch. "Fugaku cannot be serious."

Just then, another kunai came whistling by, and had Pein not moved away at the last second, his cheek would've been impaled.

"When it comes to war, I think we've found that Fugaku is very, very serious," he replied, closing his eyes as several shinobi jumped out of the trees.

* * *

Meanwhile, Karin had warned the villagers, and the surviving head of each family - some being sons, others being fathers, and many more being mothers or children - gathered their families together into the safe basement they'd stayed in. She and four other attendants went back and forth, getting water, some getting food reserves from anywhere and anywhere they were stashed at, others taking care of injuries, and one who dedicated himself to watching over the small children as their parents, grandparents, or siblings worked.

Karin took a moment to glance back at him. A fresh-faced teenage recruit, only fifteen, Hideki was cheerful and kind, especially to the children of each village they sought refuge in. He'd confided in her one day that, before he defected, it was his dream to have children of his own to love. Unfortunately, the day his father died caused him and his mother to have to try and survive alone, and only a couple of months later, his mother killed herself out of grief.

The poor boy had been through so much, but he'd told her that he made it his mission to try and find the best in any situation he was forced into. On a more emotional note, the necklace made of thin rope and a crudely-cut emerald had been his father's, he'd claimed. He'd given it to Hideki's mother when he proposed, and Hideki's mother had given it to him the day before she died. He cried every time he told the story, still, even six months later, but even then he never stopped smiling.

As of now, he was content to sit in a corner with the children, some of the younger ones sitting on his knees, one of them holding the necklace in their hand. He was talking animatedly, probably telling a story - and if Karin knew him as well as she thought, he was probably telling them the story of the three Sannin - one he claimed was his favorite story to tell.

She cracked a tiny smile upon seeing him chuckle at one of the children cutting in. _"His dreams aren't ill-fit; he would make a perfect father."_

Turning away, she focused on the task at hand. She was still holding a silently-crying woman's arm as her colleague wrapped it again. She'd broken it during the pillaging and was still healing.

"We got any more clean bandages?" Another called out.

"There should be some in my pack over there," Karin replied, pointing towards their supplies. "It's the one with the berry stain on the front."

Now subconsciously distracted from her task, she found herself listening in to Hideki's story.

"And then Jiraiya-sama defeated the last villain with his greatest technique!" His voice was exaggeratedly dramatic. "After the battle, he took his friends Tsunade-sama and Orochimaru-sama out for a celebratory dinner at the village they saved."

The same soft smile creeped back. _"At least one of us is having fun."_

* * *

Hinata kept glancing back behind them as they ran, just not being able to shake off the nagging feeling that something was wrong.

"You good?" Shikamaru asked, eyes darting to hers for a second.

"No," she admitted. "Something feels... wrong. It feels like we're being followed."

He nodded briskly. "Traitors."

She nearly missed a step in surprise, stuttering, "T- Traitors?!"

"Of their side," he explained casually. "I spent the night talking with them after I found them near camp. Fresh-faces."

He sighed, shaking his head. "They didn't want to kill. Typical of newcomers."

"Bu- b- but- what if they're spies again?" She gasped. "We cannot afford to be revealed again!"

"I had Ino search his and his friend's minds." He shrugged. "Clean."

Still, the unease remained. "If you say so, Nara-san."

"Please, call me Shikamaru." He looked between her and the trees for a moment before frowning at her. "We're well past the point where I became unworthy of the name Nara."

* * *

Half an hour later, the sun had begun to peek over the forest when they neared the capital. The city's trademark towering gates loomed close, and they could almost see the guards stationed at its entrance.

"We'll have to wait until later," Tsunade observed with a frown. "For now, we need to rest."

The group broke into either mumbled agreements or tired nodding heads, and they found a hidden nook in the trees and fell asleep in the shadows.

Tsunade was one of the only ones still awake when Noh came to sit beside her, rubbing at her eye.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" The blonde chuckled, watching the brightening sky.

"Damned if I do, damned if I don't," Noh replied with a yawn. "I mean, what else are we going to do besides set up camp and wait?"

"Touche."

The cool, damp morning air made her shiver a bit, but when two more soldiers appeared Tsunade rose to greet them.

"Any stragglers?" She asked.

"No, Iris-sama. A few enemy soldiers tried to follow, but were quickly deterred by the Akatsuki." One of them stated.

"Excellent." She gave them a smile, pointing her thumb at the rest of the camp. "Go rest up, men. We'll need you for watch later this afternoon."

They both saluted her and walked off towards where the rest were sleeping. It didn't take them long to curl up at the base of a tree and fall fast asleep.

"Shikamaru is a genius," Noh observed. "Who better to persuade than a couple of fresh-faces? How old are they? Nineteen? Twenty?"

"Both eighteen, friends since childhood." Tsunade shook her head in slight disgust. "In this profession? Practically newborn babes. Though I can't say we're any better..."

"At the very least, it's their choice to join us or not." Noh began to argue calmly, gesturing to the group. "The younger ones are sent to me for training in medical, remember? No one under eighteen becomes a soldier until they're of age."

"But we're still recruiting young teenagers," Tsunade said simply. Her eyes darted toward where Sakura was sleeping for a moment before raising her eyebrows at the brunette. "She was freshly thirteen when she joined, remember?"

Noh didn't say anything for a few moments, only giving her a loose shrug.

Then, "You were always much more gentle with her than any other young recruit. I don't think I ever got the true reason why."

Tsunade paused for a moment, looking her over before sitting down with a sigh. "You already know why. To make such a mature decision at such a young age is impressive. The way she toughened up so quickly after losing her family? After abandoning her home? It's like she was born for this. Not this life, but for the shinobi way."

"But you wouldn't let her become a soldier even if we were in peace, would you?" Noh deadpanned.

Shaking her head, the blonde replied, "If the roles were different and I took one look at her wanting to join the army, I'd reject her so fast she'd be halfway out the door before her father even realized. Hell, I wouldn't have taken her even now."

"So why then?" The younger woman persisted. After a moment, her voice dropped to a softer, more sympathetic tone, "... does it have to do with Dan?"

"Surprisingly, no." Tsunade's voice was almost reverent as she spoke of him. "I... I really don't remember exactly why I decided to take her under my wing. Perhaps it was the shock of being in charge of such a young girl, perhaps something about her reminded me of Nawaki. Or maybe... maybe perhaps, she reminded me of, well, me."

"She is quite a spitfire," Noh acknowledged with a fond glance over at the girl. "She's your spitting image. Just, well, pink."

"And strong," Tsunade added, the faintest of smiles crossing her lips. "Only a few weeks, and she had such a determined spirit again. It's almost like she felt she owed me for taking her in. Always asking about what else she could do, trying so desperately to do her share and much over... honestly, sometimes I catch a glimpse of myself at nineteen, a hardened soldier, rather than being random girl from Konoha that cracked under the pressure."

Both chuckled quietly to themselves for a moment at the irony.

"If I'm being honest, when I first met her, I really thought that you had a secret daughter that you'd never mentioned before." She shook her head in amusement. "Imagine my surprise when she reveals to us that she wants to be a part of Riot. This scrawny, pale little twelve, then thirteen-year-old girl who looks like a gentle breeze could knock her over wanting to be a fighter? I have to admit, I was pretty stunned."

"I was rather... horrified, to say the least, that she wanted to join, too." Tsunade agreed. "Honestly, at the time, I was so bitter and angry at the king for the people he was hurting, I felt like it would be some kind of revenge against him for robbing so many of their lives. For a minute, I really felt like it would be some kind of 'take that' at him for taking away this girl's childhood. Well, that was before the kid grew on me.

"After a while, I realized just how selfish I was for taking her away from her family, but at that point, I couldn't imagine a day without her looking up at me with those big, green eyes, eagerly asking me about what she could do to help. So, well, I just embraced it. Better to be a mother, as ill-fitted as I am to be one, rather than some kind of cold boss that just wants you around for cannon fodder, right?"

"But 'motherhood' fits you so well, Tsunade." Noh's eyes shone with admiration, and although she looked a little hurt inside, she masked it well. "You've brought her up to be such a wonderful person. Not everyone can handle teenage angst, you know."

Tsunade laughed a little at that. "Believe me, it wasn't much of a teenage angstfest when everyone was keeping her so busy. That, and she told me a lot of how grateful she was to be out of Konoha."

She hesitated a moment before looking over at the direction of Konoha's gates. "... She's hiding it well, but... being this close to home is taking a toll on her."

"Is it?"

"She'll never come right out and say it, of course, but Konoha holds a lot of dear memories for her. Some positive, a lot negative, but it's all the same in the end." Tsunade shook her head, a grim frown overtaking her face. "I'm surprised she's keeping so calm. Whenever we have to relocate near here, it puts her in a solemn mood for at least a good week after we leave."

"Really." Noh blinked at her, wide-eyed. "I guess it seems obvious, but hearing it it still surprising."

"She tries to hide the hurt it brings her, but even talking about her past is very damaging." The blonde sighed heavily once more. "I know of at least one time when she's come to me and begged me to consider someone else as a spy, but... honestly, out of everyone, she'd probably be the most fit for the job. I mean, I can't send Karin in again; she'd be executed on sight. The kicker is that no one would expect such a sweet face to be a double-agent. That, and we can only imagine how the prince would react to her working in the castle."

"She may look different, but she's the same soul," Noh slowly replied. "Indeed. I just can't imagine sending her in, though. She's still so young."

"You were twenty when you ran away," Tsunade pointed out with a sagely smile. "As much as I don't want to face it, she's not a little girl anymore. I have faith that she'll be able to complete the mission."

As she turned to gaze at the girl, she drank in the sight. She was curled into Hinata, her cotton candy hair draped across her face. Her expression was one of content, almost as if there was no war in Fire. "She is our trump card for a peaceful resolution."

* * *

**A/N: Things will begin picking up again, and soon we'll be able to see some 'Team 7' interaction!**

**Tell me what you thought, and I'll see you next week!**


	23. Chapter 22

**A/N: Here's the next chapter!**

**Also, please note: the currency used is going to be the Japanese yen. Hence, 10,000 yen is approximately 100 US dollars.**

* * *

_Chapter 22: In the Streets of Konoha_

* * *

By the time the group had awoken again, Tsunade and Noh had taken short naps themselves, and Noh had been assigned to walk through Konoha with Sakura for a little shopping spree for clothes and other necessities.

The guards hadn't suspected a thing when the two strolled on in with their IDs, thankfully, and thus the ladies were able to head up to Konoha's main street, where Sakura remembered that a certain shopping center was located.

She couldn't help but stare around as they both walked. "I honestly can't believe it looks so different now."

Noh nodded, amazed at the new buildings. "It does look much different. Then again, it has been about six, seven years for both of us."

"I guess I keep forgetting," she laughed, messing with her hair. She'd decided to go with a simple ponytail, half of her bangs hanging across her face with the other half pinned. Noh had gone with a stubby ponytail, something that made her look radically different; everyone was so used to seeing Noh's hair barely brushing against her cheeks all the time.

They both had simple gray travelling cloaks on and dresses underneath for a more 'civilian' look. Noh had ditched the purple facepaint, and Sakura had taken care in putting on some eyeliner and some lighter concealer.

"Ooh, look at that!" Sakura pointed towards a fruit vendor, who had juicy-looking peaches for sale. "Why don't we get a couple for lunch?"

"Only if we get enough for the others," Noh replied with a wink. "I, for one, do not want Baa-chan ripping us a new one for not getting her some."

Sakura nearly burst into raucous laughter, instead letting herself giggle madly at the nickname. "Of course, of course. Poor Baa-chan. She'd freak if she knew we called her that."

Noh laughed along with her as they approached the vendor.

"Good afternoon, ladies," he said with a weathered smile. He gestured towards the fruits. "Ripe produce for sale."

"We'll take a bag of peaches, please," Noh said, pulling out her coin purse.

"That's ten peaches for... around ten thousand," he said, picking some peaches.

"Ten thousand?" Sakura gaped. "Prices have really inflated since we left."

"Yes, yes, the king rose taxes again, so I'm afraid I can't accept anything less," the vendor explained, sighing as he put the fruits into a pouch. "Still, one must have hope. As long as things simmer down with the rebels, I have faith that the king will loosen his grip."

"One can only hope, indeed," Noh echoed with a solemn frown as she handed him the money. She paused for a moment, before slipping him a little extra. "Thank you, kind sir. Keep the change. May Kami-sama smile upon you and your family."

"Bless you, miss," the aged man replied, bowing slightly to her. "May Kami-sama guide you in your journeys for your kindness."

As they left the vendor, Sakura sniffed. "Well now I feel super bad."

Noh kept her grimace, nodding slowly. "Now you understand why we fight," she explained in a low voice. "If we don't cry peace for the voiceless, then why do we even speak at all?"

The way her eyebrows scrunched together, the way her eyes narrowed, the way her mouth was pressed into a thin line, making her wrinkles more pronounced, seemed to age her. The shadows that clung about her face as she bowed her head slightly added to the bags already formed under her eyes. Even though she was only twenty-seven, she looked scarcely a day over thirty-five with the look on her face.

Sakura sighed lightly. Trying to lighten the mood, she pointed towards a little shop with a pretty, pale green dress in its window. "Hey, we're at the clothes shop. Why don't we do a little looking around? It'll make you feel better."

The brunette cracked a smile. "We're here for you, remember? I doubt I'll do much looking myself, but feel free to go buck wild in there."

"Oh no no no, you're looking with me." The pinkette threw her a stubborn look, though her eyes gleamed with mischief. "Who knows? Maybe we could even find something to compliment Baa-chan."

That seemed to do it. Noh gave a chuckle, adding, "With the way she and Jii-chan dance around each other, I'm honestly contemplating it."

Once they got into the shop, they noticed how much more worn-down it appeared, a stark contrast to how Sakura had remembered it from when she was a preteen. The wallpaper was fraying in some places, the carpet was worn down from where customers came and went, and the stock they carried seemed little more than four-fifths of its capacity.

"Welcome to the shop, ladies," the middle-aged blonde woman from behind the counter greeted with a smile. "Unfortunately, I don't have much else other than what's on the shop floor, but you can still look around."

"Thank you, madam." Sakura said, bowing respectfully before ducking into the dresses.

Noh followed her, pausing once or twice to look at some piece that caught her eye. She stopped in front of a pretty purple dress that fell to her knee, secured by a black obi. She smiled slightly, the memories of her old training outfit coming to mind. She picked it up, feeling the soft material.

"You find something?" Sakura asked, suddenly standing in front of her with a pale green qipao dress, the pattern of a waterfall of soft lilac flowers falling down the left side of the dress.

"Er- maybe," Noh replied, shaking her head. She turned to see the girl's pick. "That's a gorgeous dress, Shien. You getting it?"

"Maybe I will," she said, studying the collar. "I just saw you looking, y'know, kinda sad, so I thought I'd see if you were okay."

Noh blinked for a moment, before relaxing, giving her an easy smile. "I'm fine. Just... memories, you know."

"Yeah, I do." Sakura nodded empathatically." "I have a couple of other picks, if you don't mind giving me your opinion."

"I'm an open book, Shi," Noh said, following her to the racks.

* * *

In the end, Sakura got the dress, as well as a leaf-green sleeveless qipao with a black obi, a white off-shoulder mid-thigh dress, and a jade green kimono wraparound dress for Tsunade. After a bit of persuasion, Noh bought the little purple dress she'd been eyeing.

As they walked out of the shop, they stopped in a park to eat some of the peaches they bought, talking about this and that.

They finished their fruits and decided to walk around and look.

As Sakura was busy gaping in wonder at the beautiful summer sights, she accidentally bumped into someone and fell.

"I'm so sorry!" A boy with short black hair exclaimed, helping her up. "Please forgive me for so rudely bumping into you!"

Sakura recognized Lee immediately and gave him a soft smile. "It's no trouble. If anything, I bumped into you first."

Lee shook his head fiercely, grasping her hands in his larger ones. "No no, I insist. I should have been watching my path so I wouldn't run into such a lovely lady."

She blushed, giggling a little. "You're quite sweet."

"My name is Lee. What might a breathtaking blossom such as you be called?" He asked, his own cheeks flushing a light pink.

"Shien. My name is Shien Hayashi." She replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he replied with a beaming smile. Then he happened to look closer at her, and it dimmed a little. "You look rather familiar... have I met you before?"

"I wouldn't say so," she replied with a dismissive shake of her head. "I would have remembered such a striking face."

Thankfully, he ate up her compliment, his eyes lighting up in delight. "Ha ha, of course! If I'd met you before, I'd remember your beauty!"

At that moment, a girl with twin brown buns appeared, looking annoyed. "Lee, c'mon, Guy isn't gonna wait forever."

"Apologies, Tenten," he replied. "I was just, er,"

"I knocked him down, it's my fault," she interjected, relishing in her friend's growth. She looked so different, and yet when she looked into the girl's face, she didn't seem to change at all. "My name's Shien. It's nice to meet you, Tenten."

"Same to you," she said, immediately brightening as she gave her a nod. "Lee, c'mon."

"Will I see you again?" He asked, gazing into her eyes.

"Perhaps, if I happen to be around," she teased lightly.

"Well, it was really nice to meet you, but I'm afraid Lee and I have to get going," Tenten replied, grabbing Lee's arm.

"Goodbye," she said, watching as Tenten dragged her brother off.

Noh rose an eyebrow at the pair. "They surely are something."

"Lee's always been one helluva something," Sakura replied with a huff of laughter. "Glad to see neither of them have changed a bit."

* * *

**A/N: I've been really itching to have Sakura meet Lee and Tenten for a while now!**

**Tell me what you thought! See you next week, and merry Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/heck, all three! ****May your presents excite you and may your family atmosphere be warm!**


	24. Chapter 23

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Apologies for the later update.**

**Ah, also! Happy early New Year! As far as I know right now, the end date of this fic is going to be in late August/late September in 2020. I quite like the weekly uploads, because it's given me so much more time to be creative. I hope you'll stick with it until then.**

**Anyways! With that update out of the way, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

_Chapter 23: My Son_

* * *

As they walked back from the shopping district in high spirits, bags in hand, Sakura heard a little boy shouting.

"Hey, give it back! That's my mom's!"

She turned and frowned, seeing a boy with dark coffee-brown hair pulled back into a low ponytail, his bangs framing his face. His black eyes were screwed up in anger as he tried to jump up to grab something an older, taller boy was holding.

The taller boy laughed, mocking him. "What, you gonna go crying to mommy, little boy? What's so special about this stupid hair thing? Is it yours?"

"I already told you, it's my mother's!" He shouted, his voice shrill.

Sakura had enough and finally walked over, calm as a cucumber. "What's all the ruckus over here?"

The boys looked at her. The older one looked her up and down before leering at her.

"Get lost, lady," he replied arrogantly. "We aren't doin' anything."

The little boy said nothing, but looked up at her with dark eyes shiny with frustrated tears.

"Really? It sounds like you have something you need to give back." She gave him a sweet smile, but her eyes were cold and intimidating.

He shivered a little, but glared. "Mother told me I don't hit girls, but you're makin' me get awful close."

"Trust me, you couldn't land a hit on a common housefly." She snorted. She grabbed for his wrist, holding it in a tight grip. "Now let go and give it."

He winced, but reluctantly opened his hand.

Sakura's breath hitched. In his hand, though sweaty and worn, was a beautiful hair ornamental comb. It had jade green leaves decorating the top, like a vine, and a single pale pink cherry blossom flower seemed to bloom on the left side of it.

She snatched it up and let go of his arm, pointing to the road. "Now get lost. I don't ever want to see you harassing this boy ever again."

He rolled his eyes, and with a muttered insult under his breath, turned and stormed off.

She turned to the little boy, looking to be about six or seven, and gently handed him the comb. "Here's your comb back."

"Thank you, miss," he replied gratefully, giving her a big beaming smile that showed off missing teeth.

"It's very beautiful," she continued, squatting down next to him. "Your mother has good taste."

"Mama says that it's one of her greatest things," he said, studying it in the sunlight with a fond little grin. "She says that before I was born, it used to be my big sister's."

A lump began to form in her throat at the information, and she swallowed thickly before asking, "You have a big sister?"

"Used to." The boy frowned and kicked at a rock near his shoe. "Mama says that she died a long time ago. Mama doesn't like it when I ask about her, and Papa... Papa works all the time, and whenever I ask about her, he just starts working again."

"Mama and Papa tell me stories all the time," he continued, folding his hands in front of himself. "I wish I could meet her. Mama always says that she would have liked me when she tells me stories."

Sakura tried to smile at him, but her emotions were raging and she could feel her face growing hotter. Now that she really looked at him, she saw a bit of a resemblance between him and the baby her mother had doted on so many years before. "It sounds like you really love her. Would you ever want to meet her someday?"

"Mama says that she's dead," the boy replied, scrunching up his little nose in confusion. "How can I meet her? Can you take me? I wanna give her back her hair thingie so Mama won't be so sad."

She didn't say anything in response and simply took him into a gentle hug, pressing her nose into his hair. She tried her hardest to stop her shaking shoulders, but when Noh's feather-light fingers touched her shoulder, she let out a tiny sob.

The brunette's fingertips brushed her bare skin, and all at once she felt even worse. Noh hadn't seen the baby she'd given up since Morino, and already she could see so much of her in the little boy's face. He had her straight brown hair and her nose, yet he had (what was assumed to be) Obito's eyes and his smile.

"Are you okay, miss?" The boy asked, sounding upset and a little scared. "Please don't cry. I'm sorry I brought up big sister."

She pulled back and gently ran a thumb across his cheek, swiping away a tear that had began to fall down his skin. The last thing she wanted was to make him start crying too.

"I can't give you back the family you lost, but I can tell you that your parents love you very, very much, young one," her voice was soft, almost reverent, as she spoke. "I know you have lots of questions about your sister, but please, be patient with them. Your mother... your mother has gone through so much."

She felt Noh stiffen behind her, and she blinked away her own moisture before continuing, "There is so much that you simply cannot understand right now, but I promise, this war will be over soon."

His eyes widened innocently, and he gasped, "Are you Riot people?"

She turned to share a look with Noh. The older brunette shook her head softly, with an amused smile.

Sakura turned back to Arata and chuckled. "If you can keep a secret."

"I promise, I promise I won't tell nobody!" He nodded, eyes as wide as dumplings. "Wow! Mama always says that you're heroes. I've always wanted to meet you!"

Noh tucked a bang behind his ear with bright eyes. "It's an honor to meet such a brave soul," she said, though her voice sounded slightly choked.

"I can't wait to tell Mama about you." He breathed, reaching out to touch Sakura's hair with his tiny fingers. "You're really pretty. Mama says that my big sister was really pretty, too. And so was my angel!"

"Your angel?" Sakura asked indulgently, her lips curving upwards.

"Yeah! Mama says that an angel gave me to her! Mama always talks about my pretty angel that always watches over me."

He looked up at Noh, who seemed invisibly upset. With childish wonder, he exclaimed, "Wow, Mama's not gonna believe it! You look just like my angel!"

The brunette's lip trembled, but she gave him a smile. "Is that so?"

Arata nodded happily, and that beaming, gap-toothed smile was back.

Then, faintly, Sakura heard her mother calling. "Arata! It's time for dinner!"

"Oh, I gotta go," he said, eyes wide. "Thank you for getting my comb back."

"You're welcome, Arata," Sakura said.

Noh hesitated for a moment, but bent down, pressing a soft kiss to the top of the boy's head.

He wrinkled his nose and rubbed at his hair seriously asking, "If I get Angel Cooties, does that mean I'm an angel too?"

Noh chuckled with him, patting his head. "I'm afraid that's not how it works, young one."

Then they heard Mebuki's voice again, and both women stood up.

Arata turned to go, but he paused and turned back to them, giving them pleading puppy eyes. "Don't you wanna stay? Mama makes really good soup!"

"I'm afraid we can't, but thank you for offering," Noh replied with a warm smile. "Be more careful with the comb; I have a feeling your mother would be upset if it got lost."

"She would," Arata agreed, frowning lightly. Then he smiled at them and turned, running off, yelling "Thank you!" over his shoulder.

Noh and Sakura looked at each other, nodding slowly in understanding.

"Your son is turning into a wonderful young man," the pinkette said, rubbing her eye again, careful of her eyeliner.

"And your brother seems to really idolize your memory," the brunette responded, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and leading her back to camp.

If either of them noticed the tears in the other's eyes, neither said anything in silent empathy. It was only when they got back to camp that they split their purchases, handed out the foodstuff, and went to their respective corners for a silent weeping.

* * *

That night, Sasuke stood out on his balcony, gazing at the dark clouds on the horizon. A terrible feeling swept over him at the sight of the rolling gray.

"What's up?" Naruto asked, casually putting a hand on the railing. When he looked up at the sky, he whistled. "Damn, looks like it's gonna rain."

"I have a feeling," Sasuke simply replied, his eyebrows dipping lower on his face. "Something doesn't feel right."

"You sure that's not just the rainclouds?"

The boy shot him a look.

Naruto rose his hands in defense. "Okay, okay, not the rainclouds."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura sat underneath a tree, gazing up at the darkening sky with concern.

"It'll rain during the night," Tsunade piped up with a sigh beside her.

"Yeah..." The pinkette trailed off. "It feels like a bad omen."

The blonde turned to give her a questioning gaze. "What, you mean about the infiltration mission?"

"Yes." Her eyes were still vaguely red from earlier. She merely shook her head. "What if this is a sign that we shouldn't go through with it? What if..."

"Sakura, listen to me. Having doubts is normal. It's a simple fact of life. But we've come too far to quit now." She grabbed the girl's shoulder, looking over each part of her face. "We must go through with this. Why give us a sign so late in the game to turn back?"

After a few moments, she reluctantly agreed, "I suppose so."

* * *

**A/N: Ah, angst. I hope you enjoyed seeing Arata for the first time.**

**Tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you next week.**


	25. Chapter 24

**A/N: First chapter of the new year! How's 2020 treating you? I hope it'll be better than last year... we'll see!**

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 24: Dolled to Destroy_

* * *

The next morning came, and as expected, all was miserably wet. The atmosphere in the camp was more solemn, and the new recruits watched in silent anticipation as Tsunade and Sakura prepared to go into the capital. A couple of them gave the women encouraging smiles, and others muttered a 'good luck'.

Sakura dressed in Tsunade's tent, putting on the pale green dress she'd bought the day before. She brushed out her hair with the help of a nearby pool, staring grimly at her reflection. With some help from Hinata, she put it up into a high bun and decorated it with a pretty lilac hairpiece that Noh had, unbeknownst to her, found yesterday. She activated a minor transformation technique that, if she was to be recognized, made the person mistake her for someone else.

The final touches were to lighten her face with a bit of makeup and add a touch of green eyeshadow and pale lipstick.

When Noh saw the final look, she smiled sadly. "You remind me so much of my wedding day," she whispered, giving the girl a hug. She handed her a silver necklace with a flower charm at the end, her alias, the violet, with a "Good luck."

Tsunade had put on a ragged gray cloak and a spare brown dress that halted mid-calf (one that she kept for the event that she had to go into town). She let her hair out of her signature twin-tails, instead opting for a low bun secured by a silver-plated kanzashi pin. She went without the makeup she usually went with, instead going for a 'hag' look. (Indeed, when she turned around to ask Noh how she looked, the medic could honestly say that, had she not known Tsunade, she wouldn't have recognized her at all.)

As the sun rose higher in the sky, Tsunade finally took the girl's hand. "It's time for us to leave," she said, turning her gaze to the village gates. "Got everything? Extra set of clothes? Emergency weapons?"

"Check and check," Sakura confirmed, heaving a sigh. "I'm nervous."

"I don't blame you one bit," Shikamaru snorted, lazily looking her up and down before giving an approving nod. "If I was going into the lions' den with nothing but a few kunai, I'd probably be soiling myself by now."

"Eww, don't be so gross this early in the morning," Ino groaned, lightly shoulder-checking him. She gave her friend a bright smile. "I think you look gorgeous. You'll get the job for sure."

"Thanks, Pig," The pinkette replied, hugging her tight. "It won't be the same without your haggy face in the morning."

"Oh please, like my beauty compares to your sluggishness," the blonde gave a playful scoff.

"If you don't mind, ladies," Tsunade interjected, a hint of amusement in her voice, "We'd better get going if we want an audience with the king before noon."

Sakura nodded, turning to see Hinata watching her with a solemn gaze.

She stepped towards her, gently grabbing her hands and holding them up. Her lips quirked up into a half-smile, and she gently pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "I'm afraid we must part, my lady." She murmured, relishing in the shy, rosy redness her cheeks had turned. "I'll be sure to watch over Naruto... and Sasuke."

* * *

The trip through the village was fairly silent between the duo. Mentor and mentee exchanged glances from time to time, but otherwise, neither looked at the other.

Tsunade, honestly, was scared. Sakura wasn't much older than she herself had been when _she_ was fighting a bloody war, and here she was, prepared to spy on the royal family with no guarantee of success. She was still so young, and yet life on the run had toughened her up immensely. It had weathered her hands and set a firmness to her eyes that not very many could empathize with. She had to admit that if anyone could do it, Sakura could.

It was far too risky to send in Noh, especially with her history with the family. Honestly, she was surprised the woman wasn't more offended she'd ever asked her to do such a thing; after her husband's death, she vowed she'd never look the king in the eye again. The underlying threat, plus the slight glint of her kunai knife in the sunshine, had helped her understand.

Sakura had been traumatized too, yet not to the same degree - sure, she hadn't ever gotten over the death of her cousin, but she was lucky to be spared the agony of watching your lover die.

As had Karin; losing her only family and being forced to betray her only living relative had wrecked havoc on her mental state. Luckily, like Sakura and Noh, she had been relatively quick to bounce back - even if it entailed unhealthy coping habits, like throwing herself wholly into her work with hardly a break.

She spared the pinkette a glance, only to see her bright eyebrows low in a frown, her forest eyes determinedly watching the road. Nineteen. Nineteen and already on the track to mastering everything the Slug Princess knew. Hell, she would've found it impressive had the girl gotten the seal when she was sixteen. It had taken Tsunade until around her eighteenth birthday to finally gain it, and it was no easy task. She was definitely on the right path to getting the seal, but all she needed was one final push; one that they had yet to find.

She couldn't be more proud of her pupil. Her daughter. She'd been vehemently against motherhood for as long as she could remember (partially because it unearthed painful memories, and partially because the war had _destroyed_ her, inside and out), but the girl had been stubborn enough to stay and grow on her. Imagine that. A scrawny little teenager with pale pink hair had wormed her way into a hardened war veteran's heart and endeared herself enough that Tsunade was comfortable calling her 'daughter'. And between her, Karin, Noh (and, admittedly, Jiraiya), Tsunade could confidently say she had found her family again.

Life could be pretty weird sometimes.

* * *

As they walked through the town, Sakura noticed a familiar head of blonde hair and peridot eyes, and she made sure to avert her own when the woman looked around.

It had been years since she'd last seen her mother, and it was apparent that the years hadn't been kind. The stress had streaked her once-sunny tresses with silver, and she had permanent frown lines around her eyes and mouth. The one thing that didn't seem to have changed was the kindness in her eyes, especially when she regarded the excitable boy tugging at her ratty green dress.

And her father. When she saw her father, she almost had to do a double-take. His mauve hair, always so ridiculously cherry-blossom shaped, had gone totally gray, and the 'petals' of his head were trimmed down so that it closely followed his skin, dipping low down his neck and ending at the base with, funnily enough, the shape of cherry blossom petals. Gone were his massive sideburns, replaced instead with a thin mustache above his lips. His face was gaunt and his eyes seemed to sink into his skin, and although he still had a gentle look about him, he was just as wrinkled and weary-looking as her mother. Still, his leaf-green eyes still sparkled with some kind of happiness, and as she observed, he shared a chuckle with Arata as he showed the boy how to peel open an orange.

Forty-two. Only forty-two, yet they'd lost two children and gained another. She couldn't remember a time when she'd seen them look so happy.

She cracked the tiniest smile, and, ignoring the burning in her eyes and the painful clenching of her heart, turned away and focused her attention on the looming bridge to the castle.

Once she crossed that bridge, her life as an on-the-run rebel would pause, and a new life as a castle maid would take its place.

Her stomach was filled with butterflies, and she felt the anxiety of seeing the Uchiha monarchs again - of seeing her _friends_ again - overtake her. She squeezed Tsunade's hand tight.

* * *

**A/N: Just a few more feels for Sakura. Tell me what you thought! I'll see y'all next week!**


	26. Chapter 25

**A/N: We finally make it to the Palace Arc! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 25: From Rebel to Servant_

* * *

Fugaku had been sitting in meetings all morning, and he was exhausted already.

With a quiet sigh, he watched as his latest messenger hurried out of the throne room. He desperately prayed that something interesting would happen.

_"Maybe some kind of jester?" _He thought to himself, resting his chin on his knuckles. _"I could probably watch a court jester right about now."_

A knock came at the double-doors, and he called out, "You may enter!"

As they opened, he did a double-take at the two women that entered the room.

The younger one, the one with pink hair, looked awfully familiar for a few moments, but in the next, he dismissed it as a trick of the light. She was dressed beautifully in a fashionable pale green dress.

The older one, the blonde, also looked familiar, but he shrugged it off after studying her face for a few moments. She was wrinkled and plain, though her aged honey eyes emanated a warmth that made him relax a little.

"What have you come here to ask of me?" He asked, sitting up straighter.

"Milord, I only come to request a job here for this young lady." The older one bowed respectfully as she spoke. "It would do my family a great service."

"What is your name, madam?" He asked, his eyes softening. She was dressed just as shabbily as most of the other peasants that came through, and yet he caught sight of a nicer brown dress beneath her cloak. She had to be at least middle-class.

"Hayashi, milord," she replied, gesturing to both herself and her daughter, who stood with her hands clasped together in front of her. "I am Chiasa Hayashi, and this is my lovely adopted daughter, Shien Hayashi."

"It's an honor to finally meet you, my king," Shien said, bowing for a few moments. The lilac ornament in her hair swayed a bit with the movement, and he caught sight of a flower pendant around her neck. A violet. Most peculiar. It went nicely enough with the dress, and it didn't set off any immediate alarms in his mind as he covertly activated his eyes and searched them both.

"Tell me, are you nobles of some kind?" He asked, his eyes going back to their usual midnight black. He recognized the name Hayashi. There was a clan on the borders of Fire, a family that, in the past, he had enjoyed fellowship with. If they were indeed from the same clan, he knew he had to do something.

"Yes, milord," Chiasa nodded. "My family hails from the farthest borders of Fire. We have traveled far in order to be here."

"So you must have..." Fugaku muttered, stroking his chin. "I must admit, I have enjoyed the company of your clan through the years. What is it, exactly, that you want to do here?"

"If I'm not being too forward, my king, even a simple maid's job would suffice," the girl's voice trembled slightly, giving away her nervousness.

He was appalled that she would allow herself as a lady of high enough status to take on the lowly job of a castle maid. "And... you're sure of this?"

"Anything to serve the royal family, my king." Shien smiled pleasantly, and for a moment, her face seemed to change in the light.

But a split-second later, he blinked, and it was gone, replaced with her sweet demeanor.

He hummed in thought. "It would be a waste to put you to work as a humble maid... but I'll tell you what. My son, Sasuke, has been in want of a servant for quite some time now. Would you keep my son company? Surely it is a high enough position for such a young lady in my court."

Shien hesitated for a moment. While she was here to get closer to the prince and eventually overthrow the king and queen, she hadn't really expected him to snap up the bait so easily.

Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, she beamed up at him. "It would be an honor, sir."

"Excellent." Fugaku nodded once, seemingly pleased. "Your duties begin as soon as possible. I'll have a maid show you to your quarters. In the meantime, madam, shall I get a guest bedroom for you...?"

"Oh, you are too kind, your majesty," Chiasa gushed, clasping her hands together. "But I'm afraid I already made arrangements for lodgings with a friend just on the outskirts of town. You understand, I'm sure, how rude it would be to abruptly cancel..."

"Yes yes, I know it all too well." Luckily, the king wasn't offended, and he waved his hand. "I wish you safety in your travels, Hayashi-san."

"Thank you so much, my king." Chiasa and her daughter bowed once more before exiting the hall.

* * *

"Well, that was easier than I thought," Sakura breathed, chuckling. "So I guess I'm gonna work under Sasuke now."

"Be safe, okay?" Tsunade's face was contorted in motherly concern as she pulled the teenager in for a tight hug. "Write me as often as you need to. I know that Gai is lurking around somewhere, so he'll be able to get you my letters."

"Understood." Sakura nodded right as she pulled away. She gave a half-smile. "I guess I'll see you later then?"

"Yes." Tsunade squeezed her shoulder one last time before turning and heading down the hall.

Sakura watched her walk away for a few moments before she got a tap on her shoulder.

When she turned around, she smiled at the plain blonde servant girl standing timidly behind her. "Oh, have you come to show me to my room?"

"Yes, Hayashi-sama," the girl nodded in agreement, averting her pale gray-green eyes. "If you would follow me."

Sakura took one last glance over her shoulder, only to see that Tsunade had left her sight. She swallowed hard before following the servant girl through the hallway, trying to squelch the butterflies in her stomach.

"Prince Sasuke-sama has been lonely as of late," the servant explained in a hushed voice. "I'm sure he'll be glad to have your company."

"If I may ask, what exactly is it that I must do?" Sakura inquired. "Am I cleaning, doing laundry, accompanying him...?"

"Oh, no no no, you won't be doing such things as laundry, that's for _us_," the girl let out a laugh. "_Your_ duties will be to attend to his highness and make certain that Namikaze-sama doesn't cause too much trouble around the castle."

"... I see..." she laughed nervously. "Does... does Namikaze-sama make mischief often...?"

"Oh, every couple of days he'll try to cause friendly havoc for the guards," the girl was way too nonchalant about this as they kept walking. "Just keep him company and I doubt he'll want to do anything worse than that one morning he filled a guard's boots completely with water."

"Oh my!" Shien gasped. "He did that for a _prank_?"

The girl paused, looking her up and down for a moment. Then, in a deadpan voice, she replied, "I think you'll find that Namikaze-sama has a rather... mean-spirited sense of humor on the worst of days."

"Duly noted," she agreed, now more concerned with what she'd gotten herself into.

They continued up the stairs and through a greater hallway, one with high glass windows on either side. They came up to a door to the left and the servant girl politely knocked.

A few seconds later, the door opened, and a familiar blond head answered, matured and handsome, yet with the same cerulean eyes that shone with childish mischief. "Yo!"

"Good morning, Namikaze-sama," the girl responded, gesturing to the surprised pinkette. "His majesty has sent Prince Sasuke-sama a new, _ahem_, lady-in-waiting."

Naruto scrunched up his nose for a moment before he turned his head to look at Shien. And when he looked, his eyes widened, his jaw going slack.

"Whoa, you're _beautiful_!" He stammered before he could stop himself. "A- are you sure the king didn't try to set Sasuke up with another arranged _marriage_?"

"Believe me, if he had, I wouldn't be here right now." The servant girl said flatly. She gently gave Shien a push in Naruto's direction. "Well, I must be going now. Hayashi-sama, your room is the one directly across from this one. Farewell, and good luck."

With that, she hurried away, and Naruto was dragging the pinkette into the room, calling, "Hey, Sasuke! Check out the girl your dad sent!"

Said prince was sitting at his desk, gazing out the window. At Naruto's exclamation, he groaned, "If I've told him once, I've told him a hundred times, I'm not going to marry just _any_ girl. Throne be damned."

"Maybe you'd change your mind for _this_ one," Naruto teased, giving Shien a nudge at the ribs and waggling his eyebrows.

It took all she had not to give him a glare at the implication. _"I can't have this mucking up my mission any more than it has to!"_

Sasuke finally turned around, a tired expression on his face. When he saw Shien, his eyebrows nearly shot up to his hairline.

The pen in his hand dropped to the tile floor in his stunned silence.

"Good morning, Sasuke-sama," Shien said, shoving down the emotions that tried to bubble to the surface at the sight of her childhood friend and crush. Her rose-painted lips turned upwards in a polite smile as she fought off the emotion that threatened to choke away her next words. "As of today, I am to be your new servant."

* * *

**A/N: AAAAAAND they finally meet! Things are really gonna be ramping up now. I definitely hope you all like the moments coming up. Mwehee, it was so much fun writing for these two.**

**Oho! Before I forget to mention. I've finally finished every single chapter! The final upload date will be September 19! Thank you all for being so patient with me as I've been writing this. Expect to see this imported to AO3 once I've finished polishing it up.**

**Also, during the palace arc, remember that any time you'll see anyone in the palace refer to Sakura (even her herself), she will be called Shien. Anyone else, especially Tsunade's group, will use the name Sakura. Just so you don't get confused!**

**Tell me what you thought, and I'll see you all next week!**


	27. Chapter 26

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 26: Two Weeks Later_

* * *

Two whole weeks. Two whole, _painstakingly slow _weeks had passed. And Shien wasn't any closer to finding out any incriminating information about the royal family.

If this whole operation wasn't so damn important, she would've already called it quits. Naruto, as bubbly as he always seemed to be, was a pest some days, and she'd seen enough brooding from Sasuke to want a permanent vacation in Yugakure (the locals were always so nice to her this time of year).

Unfortunately for her, the servant girl had been right about Naruto causing havoc around the castle. The second day she was there, she'd caught him in the middle of mixing ink into a particularly-disliked guard's shampoo bottle. Granted, she understood why he'd do it, but she still had to scold him and personally deliver a brand-new bottle to the guard with an apology for the boy's behavior. Thankfully for her, the guard was really chill about it, having been around long enough to witness some of Naruto's bigger pranks, and simply laughed it off as he accepted the new bottle.

The boys were careful not to bring up her (well, Sakura's) death around her, but late at night, if she stayed eavesdropping at the prince's door, she could hear him discussing it with Naruto. And boy, if it didn't sting her heart before, hearing him talk about her death with a voice quiet with despair made her want to cry herself to sleep.

Speaking of the prince, ever since he first met her (Shien) on that day, he'd been distant and weird. Oh sure, she couldn't expect him to be the same happy person he was when they were, like, seven, but for heaven's sake, she desperately wished he'd at least crack a joke around her. He was like a rain cloud that refused to stop hovering over a picnic. He probably didn't mean to be a Debby Downer, but his attitude said otherwise.

Still, she persisted with him. If she knew him as well as she thought she had, then all he needed was some patience and he would eventually soften. And what do you know, she was right.

It took her a few days of hanging around the boys for him to finally mention her by name and not as just 'Hayashi-san'. When he'd first said her name, he paused, as if surprised he even said it, but at that point she was already awaiting his command, so he just shrugged it off and asked if she could get him a fresh towel from the linen closet. She'd done it as quickly as she could (damned if she said she didn't crave his silent kindness), and just like that, a shaky little 'friendship' had been planted between them, and he never referred to her as 'Hayashi-san' again.

Each morning, she'd awaken at around four-thirty and go around, getting ready for the day. At six AM, she'd awaken the prince with a fresh washcloth and a basin of water. Naruto would already be up as well, rattling off the things that Sasuke needed to do for that day.

At that point, she'd leave the two of them so that the prince could dress himself, and she would wait so that she could get breakfast with them (it was one thing that Naruto was extremely insistent on, and Sasuke didn't really seem to object). The queen was a lovely, cheerful woman in the mornings, always greeting her with a smile as they waited for their breakfast. Fugaku, bless his heart, tried to be cordial, but it was apparent that he was awkward around her, probably because he'd basically delegated her to being his son's personal maid (and functionally, a live-in girlfriend, if Naruto's teasing was accurate), but she didn't really mind it. Honestly, she was just as awkward around him as he was with her, given that at one point she'd seriously daydreamt of being his daughter-in-law (in more ways than one).

The worst part of it, she reflected grimly, were the nightmares.

Ever since she'd first spoken to Sasuke again, ever since she first lay eyes on her childhood sweetheart after six years apart, it seemed as if the emotions she'd so carefully locked away for so long had started to seep through the cracks. Nearly every night, she would awaken several times from nightmares of that day in the village.

Most of it, perhaps, could be guilt. She reasoned that the guilt of leaving behind her family and friends could be influencing her memories in some way. But then again, just the shock of being in Sasuke's presence again could have been influencing it, too; the boy didn't seem to realize just what a shock it was to be sitting with him at lunch, sipping tea and discussing the rest of the week's weather with Naruto. When it did hit her, she had to leave the room so that he wouldn't see her cry.

More than once, she had been sorely tempted to just come clean with everything. To sit with him on his bed, his room candlelit in the darkening night sky, tearfully recounting every single event that had culminated in taking her away from her home felt like some kind of catharsis. Sakura would spend hours upon hours dreaming up scenarios where she would finally break down and confess. Sasuke would be shocked, and more than a little angry, but at the end of it all, they would embrace and he would either agree to take down his family with her, or they would run away together in the dead of the night.

But the rational side of her heart argued that, if she really did confess her true identity, Sasuke would no doubt immediately alert his parents, and just like that, the jig would be up. She would be arrested and charged with high treason, and most likely executed. With her gone, they would no doubtedly find and kill the rest of the rebels, and who knows what would happen to Konoha as a result.

Perhaps it was for the best that he didn't know. She sighed quietly, shifting her gloomy gaze from the courtyard to where Sasuke sat at his desk, focused on scribbling away on important documents. She couldn't imagine what a shock it would be if he ever realized just who she was. To have someone you loved and thought was dead, now standing before you, very much alive and very much your enemy?

No, she decided, turning her gaze back to the window. For now, she would go through with the plan as instructed. And maybe, just maybe, once it was all over, she would finally give Sasuke his long-overdue apology.

* * *

On the flip side of the coin, Sasuke felt awkward and disheartened by the arrival of the girl. The past month had been a rollercoaster of emotions, and while he should have been glad to have someone else around, he found it increasingly difficult to try and befriend her.

Naruto was easy; he was always itching for someone new to latch onto, someone to befriend. He'd always been adept at making even the most dour break from their shells for him. (One, in particular, that he remembered, was the old captain of the royal guard, a sour old man in his late fifties. In the span of three weeks, Naruto had managed to worm his way into the sourpuss's heart. To this day, the now-retired man sends gifts every so often.)

But Sasuke had learned, through years of pain, whether from his father becoming crueler to his friends, to his brother's betrayal, to guard himself. You never knew just who would be standing in the hall. It could be a selfish diplomat, or a charming assassin. It could also be... someone familiar.

Shien stumped him, she really did. She had a haunted look in her eye, almost as if she'd been through hell and back more times than one could count on their right hand. She was careful to hide her feelings, although her eyes often betrayed how she truly felt. She was careful, but she also flinched every time someone stepped towards her too quickly.

Somewhere, deep in his heart, he pondered what Sakura would have done, had she been alive. What would she look like? What would she sound like?

It disturbed him just how much she resembled his late friend. From the way she scrunched up her nose when she was confused, to the gentle way she spoke to Naruto, in an almost motherly way. Her eyes would soften when he talked about the past, and an almost morose smile would be hinted in the way her lips twitched.

In some instances, if he glanced towards her too quickly for a second, he swore he could see Sakura sitting there, albeit with a much more normal-sized forehead, narrower eyes, and a healthy fullness and shine to her face. He could see her strawberry tresses, her shining peridot eyes, and her pretty pink smile. But in the next moment, she would be gone, replaced with a girl who looked much the same, but unfortunately, was not her.

This girl had soft, voluminous cotton candy hair, always put up in a bun, not long, thin strawberry-blonde strands of hair that reached her knees. This girl had deep, pained emerald irises, not the brighter, innocent peridot that beheld childish innocence and wonder. This girl was older, wiser, somber, than his happy, bubbly childhood friend.

There seemed to be an omnipresent sadness that surrounded her, although she never divulged anything about her past. Shien was a mystery, one that Sasuke was determined to solve.

What could she be? A long-lost twin, perhaps? A rare example of having a doppelganger somewhere else in the world?

He remembered a legend that his mother had told him and Itachi, a long, long time ago, back when they were both young children. From a different, happier time. A legend of a woman with long, soft pink hair, of one with eyes like fresh-cut grass, of skin like porcelain. One with a peculiar diamond in the middle of her forehead, the color of a healer's chakra.

His mother had called her 'love taken corporeal form', and he remembered how he used to turn up his nose at the term, calling it 'stupid'. Itachi would smile fondly, ruffling his hair, asking his mother to go on.

Emi, he recalled. Emi Fujiyama, the matriarchal ancestor of the Uchiha clan, one one for whom the Mountain of Lavender Flowers was named. That same mountain was one of a few that overlooked Konoha, the one that was said to be the place she and his ancestor Indra had met and had married a couple of hundred years before.

Now he found himself looking more at the long, beautiful, sacred tapestries that hung in the great hall, the ones that told the story of the tragedy of Indra and Emi. Star-crossed lovers that would end up causing a war between brothers that would persist for a century. Every time he gazed upon her carefully-stitched face, he was reminded of Shien.

What if... she was Emi's reincarnation? It wouldn't be impossible; Indra had been one of Sasuke's couldn't-count-how-many-great-grandfathers, after all. Perhaps the Hayashi family had dealings with the Fujiwara after Emi's death. Perhaps...

He shook his head, going back to reading his letter in the candlelight. It was one of Sakura's last letters to him before her death, the neat, yet scrawly handwriting making his heart ache with grief. He couldn't allow himself to make such judgements yet, no matter how much she unknowingly unearthed the past. Besides, his nineteenth birthday was coming fast, and his father was growing more desperate to find him a queen. If he was to ascend the throne, he would have to be married. The search for, if any existed, a way to find Sakura again would have to wait for now.

* * *

**A/N: A new perspective from Sasuke's point of view!**

**Tell me what you thought. I'll see you next week!**


	28. Chapter 27

**A/N: Hey-o! Hope you like this Naruto-filled chapter!**

* * *

_Chapter 27: Shien's Past_

* * *

The next day, Naruto managed to catch Shien when she was on her way to her room.

"Hey, Shien!" He called. "Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

She turned around, a patient smile on her face when she saw him. "Of course. Where at?"

"Your room is fine," he replied, shrugging loosely.

She nodded, opening her door and allowing him inside.

"Comfy," he commented with a grin as he flopped onto her bed.

She stifled a chuckle and sat next to him. "I guess. Way better than what I'm used to, that's for sure."

He sat up with a bit of a frown. "That's what I'm here to talk about," he said, suddenly remembering. "Do you mind sharing your past? I mean, I don't really know a whole lot about you, yet you seem to know so much about me."

"Do I?" She hummed, stalling a bit. "I suppose I do. Well, I was filled in by others on the way here."

"But what about you?" He persisted, scooting closer. "Brother? Sister? Friends?"

"No, no, and kind of," she sighed. _Here we go. _"I don't know my real parents. I was told that my mother died in childbirth, and that my father died in the subsequent war a couple of years later. I wandered around for a while until I was found by Chiasa... She graciously adopted me and brought me up in the Hayashi house."

"That sucks." Naruto frowned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm an orphan too."

"It does suck, doesn't it?" She said wryly, staring at her skirts. "I don't know my real name, nor my birthday, nor even how old I really am. Mother claims that she found me when I was about five or so, but... I'm not even sure I was that old. I can't remember a time before living with her, but every so often, flashbacks of my former life pop back up.

"Homeless, starving, relying on strangers for money..." she continued, a faraway look in her eye. "I honestly don't know how I survived for so long."

"But you did," he responded softly, smiling when she looked up at him. "And you're here now."

"I did." She agreed. "It's not easy, though."

"It really isn't." Naruto shook his own head, a remininscing frown on his face. "When my parents died, I was lost for a long time. I was lucky I had Sasuke, and his parents, but it felt... wrong. For a while there, I felt like an outsider, like I was some foreign leech relying on them for a new life.

"It was hard getting out of that mentality," he confessed with a chuckle. "Hell, sometimes I regress back to that way of thinking. But Sasuke was quick to remind me about why I was here. That my life still had purpose. That, even if my parents were gone, it didn't mean that I was too.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, that us orphans, we have it bad." He continued. "But even though it feels like the world's stacked the deck against us, even when you wanna quit, you keep going. You find what motivates you, what gives you life again. And when you find it, you hold on tight, no matter how hard life tries to pull you off of it.

"Really, though, isn't living itself just a big middle finger to a world that wants to beat you down so hard you wanna give up the fight?" He pondered. "There's no greater victory in life than when you decide to continue, even when everything else wants you to end it. That itself is the greatest rebellion of all, and yet it's also the most courageous one."

She nodded slowly. "That... that makes sense."

"But then again, what do I know?" Naruto chuckled amusedly. "I'm just a big, dumb idiot. And don't try to tell me otherwise, 'cause we both know that's not true. It's my greatest weakness, and yet I can still manage to make it my greatest strength."

She let a tiny smile spread across her lips. "I must admit, it's a bit of a surprise hearing such wisdom come from you, Naruto."

"That's the glory of putting up a front," he winked at her. "Nobody would expect anything deep to come from someone who's always kidding around. And when they do give you something to think about, it shocks you so much that you have no choice but to listen and contemplate. Maybe I should call it my Talk no Jutsu!"

She nodded once more, giggling into her hand. "It's definitely working."

He laughed a little bit before getting to his feet. When he helped her up, she hugged him, allowing him to envelop her.

"Man you're warm," she muttered into his shoulder.

"That's what Karin always used to say," his voice grew softer, as if fondly remembering something. "She always used to tell me that my chakra felt like sunshine."

"You remember her?" She was mildly surprised for a moment. Then she felt foolish. _"Wait, of course he would. It's only been a month or so, after all."_

"She arrived here when I was about fourteen," he explained, letting go of her in order to look into her eyes. "I was still trying to comfort Sasuke about... well, about Sakura's death, and we clicked almost immediately. Turns out she's one of my distant cousins. Crazy, right?"

"I'll say," Shien agreed. "Talk about a small world."

"Very small." He smiled sadly. "She was like the big sister I never had. She always looked out for me, even when I was being childish."

Shien paused for a moment. Naruto held a solemn quietness in his eyes, one that she'd never seen in him in any other time - except when he spoke about her, Sakura. His eyes were expressive; looking into them was like having a small glimpse into his soul. It was just how he was. But this emotion... it unsettled something within her. It felt _wrong_.

"It must have crushed you when she... y'know," she said, gesturing loosely.

"It did." He agreed with a small sigh. "It still hurts. She was my family, Shien. And she just... threw it all away."

She nodded silently, placing a hand on his arm. When he looked up, her mouth formed a half-smile.

"It's hard now, but... it does lessen with time," she said. "Are you... angry?"

"With her? Kind of..." he admitted. "I mean, the ambush on the castle was one thing, but to hear that she's dead one minute, and then find out she's both alive and in the enemy ranks the next? I- I wanted to scream. And cry. And yell at her. I wanted to ask her why in the hell she ever became my friend if her end goal was to hurt us. If her goal was to hurt _me_.

"But then, Sasuke managed to calm me down. He smacked me upside the head and told me to stop being a baby about it. Told me that she would have done it anyway, even if we never met." He recalled. "And he was right. Karin wouldn't ever intentionally hurt me. She's my cousin, for goodness' sake. She was probably just following orders. Sucks that my own family would do that, but... but I can't blame her now. No matter how much it hurts now, she's my family, and I love her."

_"Karin never mentioned anything about Naruto," _she reflected with a frown. _"Maybe she was trying to forget for a while. The burns on her back are still a grim reminder, but although those are fading, the memories won't..."_

He startled her out of her thoughts with a pat on the back and a grin.

"C'mon, it's almost lunchtime," he said, steering her towards the door. "I've heard that we're having lotus salad, and believe me, you do _not_ wanna miss the cook's lotus salad."

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked that bit of insight from Naruto. Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	29. Chapter 28

**A/N: This will probably be a little longer, but it's definitely worth it. Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 28: In the Garden_

* * *

"Shien, would you accompany me in the gardens?" Sasuke asked one morning.

She rose one eyebrow at him, but otherwise nodded. "Of course."

It was after breakfast, and he was due for his lessons soon. She was a bit confused as to why he would ask her now, but nevertheless, she found herself following him into the back gardens, the lush grass and cool breeze pleasant against her skin.

_"It's been years since I last stepped foot in these gardens," _she recalled grimly. _"They haven't changed a single bit since we were children."_

Sasuke found a small marble bench and the two of them sat down, facing the pretty stone fountain depicting Madara Uchiha in his armor.

She remembered at once how uncomfortable the statue always made her. But now, there was a kind of long-lost sadness to it. It was like staring into his chiseled face brought her back to the past.

The prince caught her attention when he reached down and gently plucked a daisy from the grass. He handed it to her and she accepted it with a smile, gently tucking it in with her hair ornament.

"So why have you brought me here?" She asked. "Not that I'm upset with you. This place is beautiful."

"It is," he agreed. His lips turned into a faint smile as he regarded the flora. "My mother personally had a hand in decorating this place. It's easily my favorite place in the entire castle grounds."

"I'll say." She chuckled quietly. "I'm sure you've had many fond memories here."

"Very much." His eyes shimmered in the sun as he turned to look at her. "Naruto has been a... a good companion. An idiot, but an endearing one."

"Even just having met him about a couple of weeks ago, I can soundly agree. He's very energetic, isn't he?"

"Despite the circumstances, yes." He nodded, then reclined against the back of the bench. He hesitated, as if he were going to say something, but then he stopped.

She knew. It was what she'd thought the very first time she'd ever met Naruto, something that had stuck with her even through the pain the years had brought. "His soul is as bright and warm as the sun. To be honest, I envy you for having such a loyal friend."

He frowned, onyx irises darting to the soft grass.

"That's what Karin always used to say, wasn't it?" She asked lightly.

His head whirled around to stare at her, surprised. "You knew her?"

"Our paths have crossed once or twice," she hummed. Not entirely untrue. "The first time I met her, she just couldn't keep from talking about how amazing her little cousin was. She really adored him."

Sasuke huffed a sardonic laugh, muttering, "That would have been a comforting thing to hear when she betrayed us, now wouldn't it?"

Shien's eyebrows dipped low in a frown at him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder until he looked up again.

"Believe me, your highness, sometimes there are things that you just aren't meant to know." She said seriously. "From what I know of her, betraying you like she did utterly killed her inside."

"Unlike Naruto, I'm not quite as forgiving," he retorted, shifting in his seat so that her hand was brushed off his shirt. "But I must admit, while I think her actions are reprehensible, I do respect her dedication to her task at hand. That doesn't excuse how badly she hurt him."

She said nothing in reply, allowing him to stare sulkily at the fountain. Madara's stony eyes gazed at nothing, but at the same time seemed to stare right into your soul without even trying. There was a reason she'd always avoided the statue as a child, and it was because the man the statue was sculpted from gave her the creeps. Even now, ten years later, she still felt the shiver go up her back every time she happened to catch his unseeing eyes.

At Sasuke's sudden sharp intake of breath, she turned to face him, a sympathetic look on her face.

She gently lay her hand on his, making him look up at her with suspiciously-shiny eyes.

"I can see that you have a truly compassionate heart, Prince," she murmured. Her own heart clenched at his cracking composure, but she had to chant to herself, _"Sasuke is the enemy now. You can't grow attached to him."_

Unfortunately, the moment he grasped her fingers in his, eyes darting away shyly, she thought to herself, _"Well, too late."_

"I assume Naruto has told you about..." he struggled with his words for a few moments, "about- ah- well, about our friend."

"The girl?" She asked, absently brushing her thumb across his knuckles.

He nodded slowly. "Yes. Haruno Sakura was her name. She was very dear to both of us. It's... still difficult to fathom that she's gone."

"I''m terribly sorry for your loss," she sighed. "Just from the way you talk about her, I can tell you must have thought highly of her."

"Yes, of- of course." He seemed kind of startled for a moment before he shook it off, trying to keep his cool facade. "I... I did care about her quite a bit."

"It's kind of funny," he continued, before she could open her mouth again, "that you never really know the value of something - or someone - before you lose them."

"Don't I know that all too well," she muttered in agreement. She leaned in, eyes wide with curiosity. "What was it like, when she was still among us?"

"She was happy," he recalled, a faraway look in his eye. His lips were downturned, a bit saddened, as he spoke. "Lovely. She and Naruto were like peas in a pod, like they were two people with the same soul. But she was like our lighthouse amidst a stormy sea. She was the one who had to rein us in if we got into a fistfight..."

He paused, and then chuckled. "Honestly, I don't know how we could have gotten through childhood without her."

"That sounds... wonderful," she breathed. Her chest was tight with emotion from his confessions.

"It was, it really, really was." He nodded slowly, as if in a trance. He frowned and bit his lower lip softly, thinking, for a few seconds, before he spoke again. "I- I haven't admitted this to anyone but my family, but... but I truly did love her."

To an onlooker, Shien prayed her hitched intake of breath couldn't be noticed. She swallowed past a growing pressure in her throat and stammered, "Y- you did?"

"... Yes." He frowned, slightly confused, before finally nodding his head firmly. "She was one of the lights of my life. I've never loved a girl as much as her before."

After a few moments, he turned to her, a guilty look on his face as he leaned in and said quietly, "To be honest, even when I was betrothed to Hyuuga-san, I just... didn't feel anything. I felt a sense of duty to protect her, but that was only because she just so happened to be a family friend. And... well, she loved Naruto."

"It would have felt wrong, had you mistreated her," she surmised.

"It would feel wrong if I mistreated any woman," he replied, slightly offended at the statement. "Mother taught me- well, she taught Itachi and I - never to harm a woman in any event, unless she meant to murder."

"Really?" She rose her eyebrows in surprise. "Not even if it meant the difference between life and death? Even if her end goal was not to kill you?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it a second later, frowning.

Finally, he sighed. "I... I really cannot say. I can't deny that I've been wrestling with that question myself for a long, long time."

She nodded in sympathy. "Yeah... having everything you've been taught, everything you've ever believed, being called into question suddenly isn't the most pleasant thing to experience."

"You speak as if you've gone through this before," he pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, the world is changing so rapidly, is it not?" She asked lightly, cursing herself for coming off too wise. "Honestly, there are many things that I wish I never had to face."

"Ah yes, such as your adoption, correct?" He asked.

"Yes, that's... one," she nodded in agreement. "But now is not my time to divulge those things."

He frowned, looking down with a nod.

Choosing to change the subject, she asked, "What of you? What would you do if you had the chance to see her again?"

He seemed a bit taken aback at the question, not expecting it. It physically made him cringe back, but a couple of moments of thought later, he admitted, "I... I would do anything to see her again. Alive. Happy."

"Come to think of it..." He continued, centering his gaze on her face, "... she would have looked just like you."

"Oh?" She giggled, trying to lighten her own mood. "Are you calling me beautiful, my prince?"

That seemed to do the trick. His eyes widened when he pulled away, his face turning cherry red. He looked away, seemingly embarrassed, silent.

"I was just teasing you, Sasuke," she said with a smile. "It's wonderful to have someone you loved so completely."

"Love."

"... Pardon?" She asked, not quite expecting the sudden reply.

"I... I still love her," he admitted in almost a whisper as he slowly turned to look into her face, an unreadable emotion in his eyes, one that unsettled something deep in her heart. "Truly, you don't quite know the depths I would go to just to have her again."

Their faces were close; maybe too close. She felt the urge to move away in the back of her mind, but as her eyes flickered down to his parted lips, she whispered, "... Even if it meant forsaking your very soul?"

His eyes were fluttering closed as they both leaned in further, his breath tickling her face. "I assure you, _Sakura_... I would do anything."

Then, startled, he leaned away, a gasp caught in his throat as he began to cough.

She'd hardly caught the slip-up, more concerned with the way he was hacking on air. "Sasuke, are you all right?"

It took him a couple of minutes to finally catch his breath again, and when he did, he turned his head to gaze at her, his eyes teary, both from the coughing fit and from his visible anguish at his mistake.

"I- I'm sorry, I-" He stammered, getting up from the bench. "I don't- I don't know what got into me, Hayashi-san, I-"

"No, no, it's okay, I understand," she quickly placated, getting to her feet as well. She swallowed harshly around the larger lump in her throat. "I'm... a bit unnerved by people calling me a d-" she paused, giving a slight cough, "-_another_ girl's name, but... I do admit, I see the resemblance as well."

* * *

Night had fallen in the forest, and Kakashi found himself restless in the meager light of the moon.

He sighed quietly behind his mask, making another round along the edges of the camp. He'd been unable to get a good night's sleep lately, and he couldn't explain exactly why. Perhaps it was because they were so close to the prince's nineteenth birthday? Or perhaps because the king had been adamant that they were to capture and interrogate any rebels they came across.

He stretched his arms a bit, frowning at the pull on his muscles. He'd been training himself even harder lately, perhaps because of his own insecurities.

As he walked around the rather thick trunk of a tree, he almost froze in surprise when he saw someone sneaking around the edge of the treeline, clad in a dark, what looked to be black, cloak.

He silently swore to himself, reaching for the knife holstered on his hip. How had he missed a rebel? He'd only been out of this area for about three minutes... how could someone have escaped his eye?

He crept closer, noticing the person glancing around, tense.

He waited a few moments until the figure's shoulders relaxed before he flung the knife. It barely missed them, as they noticed and ducked away just in time, but it happened to pin the shoulder of their cloak to the trunk of the tree.

"Freeze, rebel scum!" Kakashi demanded, leaping over to them. "You have a right to silence, unless otherwise instructed to speak. Now I demand you show me your face."

The person hesitated for a moment, but when he reached for another knife, the figure sighed and slowly pulled the hood away from their face.

Kakashi stopped still when he saw dark purple patches on a tanned face, painfully familiar dark brown eyes gazing defiantly into his.

He nearly stopped breathing for a few seconds before stammering in stunned wonder, "R- Rin?"

"Kakashi," she breathed, eyes going wide in recognition of her old friend. She grabbed the knife and yanked it free of the trunk before dropping it to the ground and nearly jumping up, engulfing him into a crushing hug.

After a few seconds, she pulled away, and he was asking in disbelief, "What are you doing here? I- I thought you died!"

"That... that was, um, part of the plan." Her smile dropped and she looked to the ground in what looked like shame. "I'm sorry, Kakashi, but I- I just couldn't."

"I... I understand," his choked voice made her look up. He had tears in his visible eye as he hugged her again, mumbling into her shoulder, "I- I thought I killed you."

"You surprised me," she gently corrected, rubbing his back soothingly. "While I can't tell you all of what I've been doing all this time, I can ask you to join me."

"What are you talking about?" He asked, pulling away to look her in the face.

She wiped his tears away and smiled grimly up at him. "Run away with me, Kakashi. I need all the help I can get. It's... the least I could do for Obito's memory."

"It is something he would have wanted," he surmised quietly before lightly sighing. "But you know I can't do that, Rin."

"And why not?" She asked desperately, grabbing at his gloved hands. "Kakashi, I can't fight you!"

"I can't fight you either, but we don't have to be on opposing sides!" He insisted. "Come back to Konoha, please. I'll- I'll keep you safe, I'll make sure you're taken care of!"

Her expression was solemn as she shook her head. "Kakashi... not even you would be able to save me from the king's wrath, and you know it. You know what they do to rebels they capture."

"I..." his words faltered. She was right, even if he didn't want to admit it. If the king got word of a rebel in the city, he would stop at nothing to capture them, even Rin.

"Going in circles isn't going to help anyone, I'm afraid." She sighed heavily, before pulling away. "Look, I'll give you a deal. Help me, and I'll help you."

"What's the price?" He asked.

"I need you to..." she bit her bottom lip for a moment. "... do some spy work for me. Any information you have."

"I'll do anything I can to help," he immediately agreed. "But in return, I want you to keep your camp away from here. You'll need to move west tomorrow morning; the king has been wanting us to go back to Konoha, and we head back tomorrow."

* * *

**A/N: I've been dying to bring Kakashi and Rin together again!**

**I hope you enjoyed! Tell me what you thought, and I'll see y'all next week.**


	30. Chapter 29

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

_Chapter 29: Learning the Truth?_

* * *

Shien had gone to bed, both conflicted and sad, about what Sasuke had told her. But almost thankfully, the next morning came and he seemed to have forgotten it ever happened. At least, he seemed nonchalant about it on the outside. If she still knew even a small bit of the prince after all these years, she knew that he'd internalized it and had most definitely not forgotten it. One look at his eyes betrayed the hurt that lingered inside.

Naruto seemed to notice some awkward tension between them and tried more than usual to lift their moods. Both teenagers appreciated it, although they weren't exactly on speaking terms with one another.

After lunch came and went, a most awkward affair that involved Sasuke's sweet mother asking her some questions about her home, she managed to sneak away from the boys to take a walk by herself through the castle.

She bowed slightly to each guard she passed, not really having a real destination in mind, instead dwelling in her own thoughts.

Before she knew it, however, she found herself on the other side of the king and queen's quarters. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as to how she'd gotten there, but when she heard the king speaking within, she nonetheless hid behind a potted plant by the door and listened in.

* * *

...

Pace. Pace. Pace. Turn.

Pause.

Pace. Pace. Pace. Turn.

Pause.

"Gaku, sweetheart, won't you please stop pacing around?" Mikoto pleaded, looking up from her book with a concerned look. "You're practically wearing a hole in the carpet."

"Sorry, sorry, my love," he muttered, not even stopping his stride. He covered his face with his hands, taking a deep breath. "I just- I- I've been summoned, and, oh Kami-sama, I haven't a clue as to what he wants us to do _now!_"

"Stay calm," she ordered, snapping the book shut. She set it on the end table before smoothly standing from the loveseat and going towards her husband, gently wrapping her arms around him from behind. She rested her forehead on his back, continuing, "There's naught more he can do about Sasuke, anyway; if he wants an heir, tell him that he can wait."

Fugaku shivered at the warning tone in his wife's voice. "N- no, I hardly think he's going to summon me just to complain about how long it's taking Sasuke. No, I... I did everything he said. I raided Morino, partially out of revenge for Sasuke, partially because he advised me to, and I sent out spies after the attack so that we could gauge their location... I don't know what else he could possibly want!"

"Well, if he begins rambling about that girl again, consider our deal off," Mikoto stated firmly, letting go of him and going over to the windows. She clasped her hands together behind her back, gazing at the bright summer sky with icy, winter sky eyes.

"All he does these days is go on and on about his 'love'," she continued, mockingly adding, "Oh, my _angel_, oh, my _love_. I want her, I want my angel, give me my angel."

She turned towards Fugaku, staring him hard in the eyes. "Don't you think it's about time we broke things? He's been going more and more mad lately; I think it's only a matter of time before he drives the country into the ground with his attempts to destroy the rebels."

"Shh, don't say that!" The man hissed, raising a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. "He is the sole reason we've been able to get so much progress with Riot! If we desire any future in ruling Fire, hell, if we want any future _at all_, then we must listen to him!"

"Oh, please, and what is some _lovelorn teenager _going to bring to the table for us that hasn't already been served?" She exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "Fugaku, you are no fool. Surely you know that the man has lost what semblance of sanity he presumably had beforehand! Why do you insist on being his puppet?"

Fugaku gave her a hurt glare, yelling, "Everything he's told us has come true! Why would I doubt someone who has the ability to see our future? Why would I betray someone who holds that future in his hands?"

Mikoto's mouth opened as she stared at him, affronted.

"Fugaku Uchiha, the day we betrothed our son to the Hyuugas, what was our reasoning?" She asked slowly. "Was it for their men, their land, their bloodlimit, some, none, or all of the above?"

Fugaku stopped in his tracks for a moment, taken aback. Puzzled, he replied, "Of course it was foremost because of their bloodlimit, Miko. Remember, you were there when he spoke of its potential."

"Ah, yes, yes, one of his reasons was that, with the Byakugan, it would create a rare hybrid between the two families that would possess one Sharingan and one Byakugan, yes?" She almost sarcastically replied. "Tell me, in what family has that actually happened? In what clan has a hybrid child possessed one eye of each?"

Fugaku sighed, defeated. "Come now, Mikoto, how can we pass a verdict when no one has actually seen it?"

"Exactly. It's almost as if he made it up to cover his actions," she hissed. "But of course, we must trust our _infallible _hero, one who has wholeheartedly supported mass genocide of our own people, to be carried out by his _very loose sockpuppet_!"

The king gasped in scandalized anger. "How _dare_ you? How dare you accuse me of such willful treachery against the crown and our people?"

"I dare, dear husband!" She shot back, a sneer on her face. "Use your intelligence and think about it for a moment! Why would he advise us to join our bloodlines together? Why would he advise the Lady Hyuuga wed our son instead of strengthening her bloodlimit with one of her own? Why would he orchestrate such a heinous crime against our own citizens? Everything was to his design, not yours! You are the lowly servant mutt!"

"It's not- I-" Fugaku stuttered, trying to form a sentence through his indignance.

"If you want something done right, you must do it yourself," she continued, folding her arms across her chest. "He's been playing us this entire time! He's been playing you like a gilded fiddle, Fugaku, and we're almost at the encore!"

"No!"

"He's been playing the cards against us!" Mikoto cried out, sounding almost crazed as she came closer. "The deck has been stacked since the beginning! The only thing we have left to fear more than him is an uprising from our poor, dear citizens! And who's to blame? Not Riot, but us! _Him_!"

...

Behind the door, Sakura gasped sharply. "No... so- so everything about them has been a big lie? Everything we've been fighting for... and they were framed?"

She leaned away from the door, too stunned to react for a few precious moments. Then, when she got her wits partially about her, she came from her hiding spot, stumbling away for a second before running away.

* * *

Under the cover of darkness, Rin met with Kakashi again, under the same tree they'd met at before.

"What have you got for me?" She asked in a low voice.

"The royal family doesn't exactly give me much to report, Rin," he replied with a wry chuckle. "What I can tell you is that the king and queen are trying to find another candidate for Sasuke's bride before the month is out. No matter what, he must be married when he is crowned."

"And his coronation?" She asked.

"On his nineteenth birthday, July 23." He answered with a light sigh. "That, and the king is becoming increasingly paranoid of something. I regret to say that I wasn't able to find any damning information, but I have reason to believe that he'll be moving us sometime soon."

"Damn it," she hissed to herself. "Any ideas as to where?"

"No." He shook his head. "As soon as I find out, I'll try to find you. But for now, I believe you'll be safe where you are, if you're a varying distance from the city."

"Thankfully, Iris-sama took your advice and moved us," she admitted. "Unfortunately, she doesn't trust you enough for me to tell you our location."

"And understandably so," he agreed with a faint smile. "I'm just... I'm just so happy to see you again."

"And I you," she replied, hugging him with a happy sigh. "I can't tell you of how many nights I've dreamed of our childhood together. All three of us."

"We grew up too fast, Rin," he murmured into her hair. "But at least we still have each other."

* * *

**A/N: A bit short, but expected for an interim chapter. I honestly can't tell you how happy I am to be done with that segment; it's been in my drafts for _forever_!**

**Tell me what you thought! I'll see you next week.**


	31. Chapter 30

**A/N: Here's the first of a couple of chapters where you'll get to have a sneak peek of 'him'!**

* * *

_Chapter 30: A Traitor Amongst Us_

* * *

Something was wrong in the castle. He could feel a disturbance among them, an unusual chakra presence that grated at his brain constantly.

Someone was here that didn't belong. Someone had infiltrated the city. But _who_?

Who was the interloper? Who could it be?

He felt a distinct minty feeling to the chakra, something only found in the most expert of healers. Very, very briefly, his mind went to Rin - _alas, poor Rin _\- but he quickly shoved it away. There was no way she could have come back to Konoha. She was dead, _long_ dead. Or, at least, he'd seen her die.

But that was the thing about watching death, wasn't it? As the past month had taught him, sometimes what you see isn't all there is. The prince had surely learned that lesson the hard way.

He'd instructed Fugaku to come to his private chambers for a one-on-one meeting - something he'd learned quickly to do, as Mikoto was something of a spitfire when she wanted to be. The man was definitely more pliable when his wife was absent, as she seemed to have a larger influence on him than the man wanted to admit. He had to confess, there was a time long ago when he could have said the same.

When the king came into his chambers, bowing respectfully before his seat near the tower window, he hardly looked at the man. He merely flared out his chakra in annoyance, and that was enough to make the man nearly keel over in fear.

"You wished to see me, sir?" He asked softly.

"Yes," he hissed. One blazing eye glanced over at him, but he quickly looked away. "As of late, I have noticed a... particularly vexing chakra presence amongst your staff. I need you to interrogate each staff member to weed out the traitor among you."

"T- traitor?" Fugaku repeated, dumbfounded. The king hadn't sensed anything, but of course _he_ had. Whoever this was had perfect control of their chakra if only _he_ was able to sense something amiss. "A- are you sure?"

"Would I have summoned you to speak of this if I wasn't?" He all but growled, standing from the high-backed chair. He pointed a finger towards the door. "I need reports of the traitor by sunset tonight... it would truly be a shame if even your best guards were not able to save your precious son from certain death."

"Yes, milord, of course." Fugaku bowed again and stood, turning and walking quickly from the dark bedchambers. His expression was darkened, as it usually was when he used the man's youngest son in a thinly-veiled death threat.

_"How pitiable human bonds are," _he thought dourly. _"How easily created... and how easily broken."_

As soon as the door clicked shut, the man settled into his chair once more, gazing at the bright blue sky in distaste.

Everything was so... bright and happy. So peaceful. _Blech_.

Of course... His lips curled into a smile. No one would be expressing their happiness soon. One way or another, he would make sure of it.

Peace was never an option.

* * *

"I have gathered you all here today because of a report of a traitor amongst you." Fugaku announced as he paced back and forth in front of the line of palace staff. "Do not be alarmed, I will not terminate any of you without ample evidence. But if any of you recognize one of your colleagues as a rebel spy or otherwise suspicious, then I encourage you to privately come to me."

Shien looked collected on the outside, but on the inside she was panicking. _"Shit! Who sold me out?! Who told the king about this?! No wait, wait- I must be calm. He doesn't know it's me, otherwise he would have thrown me out the instant he knew. I must get through this - I'm at the end of the line, so if I can just find an excuse to leave..."_

"As a safety precaution, I have to ask to see your Fire-issued identification card," Fugaku continued. "Starting with the guards, I will make my way down the line."

Her heart was pounding. Sweat was beading on the back of her neck. Her fingers twitched the slightest bit before she folded them in front of herself, much like several of the maids were doing. Everyone looked nervous, even though she doubted that any of them were traitors to the crown.

At least, she didn't _recognize_ any as traitors to the crown. For all she knew, there could have been a third-party assassin amongst them. She wouldn't expect one of the wealthier clans (or, much less likely, the people of Sand) to hire a hitman, but then again, she'd seen her fair share of attempted assassinations to realize that a second option wasn't off the table.

The king casually made his way down the line, inspecting the identity cards with a scrutinizing glance and a nod.

She let out a silent breath and casually slipped out her own card, even though she knew it would probably trip her up.

Oh sure, the seal was official, but if he ran her name through the official roster of inhabitants of the town the Hayashi clan lived in, they'd suspect that she was an impostor. Shien Hayashi was indeed a real person, but the real girl had a totally different face and stature, and she and her mother hadn't lived with the rest of the family in the young girl's lifetime. Not to mention that she'd been caught in one of the skirmishes between a rebel faction on the outskirts of Nakamori-chi, the spot she lived, a few months prior, and she and her mother were pronounced alive and well, but only Riot knew their true status. In exchange for their silence about the deaths, the clan allowed them use of the young woman's name to infiltrate and take control of the capital.

While it was a bit macabre knowing that she was effectively wearing a dead girl's face and name as her own, she had to remind herself that she was doing it for the greater good.

_"Shien did not die for nothing," _she firmly told herself, letting out a long exhale through her nose. _"We will create a better world for those who come after her."_

He was nearly to her now, and it was growing harder to keep her hands from shaking. She held the fake card tightly in her fingers, habitually covering the photo. She happened to glance down and quickly noticed and fixed it, instead holding the card by the edges.

_"What's taking him so long...?" _She thought to herself. He was a fair distance ahead on the line, only at the cleaning servants yet. The next were the maids, and there were a lot of them.

Finally, he began going down the line of maids. Every girl diligently presented her card, and he gave each a faint nod or a speculating frown.

She closed her eyes tightly for a second. _"Kami-sama... please... please don't let him find me out!"_

"Father, what's the meaning of this?"

At the sound of Sasuke's upset voice her eyes snapped open, and at the same time the line of maids and the king turned to look at the boy, whose arms were folded across his chest, a frown on his face.

"Prince Sasuke," Fugaku greeted pleasantly, turning to face his son. "Just a routine check through the staff. What do you need?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he pointed at Sakura. Her heart absolutely jumped out of her chest and into her throat for a few seconds as everyone began staring at her in varying states of confusion and surprise.

"_She_ hasn't finished cleaning the floor in my private bathchambers!" He spat angrily. "You know Naruto made a huge mess in there this morning! It's beginning to get too sticky to walk. You _knew_ that I'm swamped with work today; I needed it done fifteen minutes ago!"

Fugaku blinked for a second, turning to look at her. She gave him a bewildered look back before she shrugged, giving a sheepish smile.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment. "Very well, you may take her with you."

Sakura let out an almost invisible sigh of relief and stepped out of line.

"Wait a moment!"

She paused, turning as the king strolled up to her.

"Your card," he said.

She showed him the identification card and he barely gave it a once-over and a dismissive nod. The look-over was so quick that she almost thought she'd imagined it.

"Carry on," he said, waving her off as he walked back to the line.

She quickly speedwalked to catch up with the prince as he strode out of the throne room.

As soon as the doors were shut and they were alone, she suddenly threw her arms around him in a crushing hug for a few seconds, stunning him enough that he froze in his spot.

"You have no idea how much you've helped me just now," she breathed quietly as she pulled away. Her eyes glimmered in the light as she gazed into his own onyx irises. "I am in your debt, my prince."

He stared at her in befuddlement for a few seconds before he shook it off, putting his neutral face back on.

"Yes, well," he coughed into his hand, hiding his faint blush by turning away, "I wasn't lying about the floor. I really do need you to help us get it mopped."

* * *

"Have you spoken to the clansmen yet?" Tsunade asked as she walked through the camp, inspecting their work.

"Yes, Lady Iris," a soldier reported with a salute, "We currently have the support of the Yamanaka, the Nara, and the Akimichi, as well as a few royal captains, such as Captain Guy."

"Excellent!" She grinned at him, nodding in approval. "Keep up the negotiations. Any updates about the Hyuuga?"

"They were... shall we say, unwilling," the boy hesitated. "They refused to speak to us at the time. We have faith that we will speak to the clan head soon, however!"

"You do that." She nodded once more, this time sympathetically. "Ol' Hiashi can be a bit of a... stubborn tortoise at the best of times. Especially since his eldest daughter has... 'died'..."

"You have no idea," Shikamaru popped up, looking bored as usual.

"Ah, Nara." Tsunade greeted. "What of your friends? Are they with us?"

"Eager and willing," he replied with a chuckle. "They'll do whatever they can in the invasion. They should be arriving in about a week or so via a 'special escort', whomever that may be. They were adamant that they couldn't tell me, but they did say that he's trustworthy enough."

"Special escort, eh?" Tsunade frowned. "Well, if they trust him, then I guess we have no choice but to give him our trust too."

"Yeah." Shikamaru agreed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "An old friend, Chouji, is gonna be helping too."

"Yes, the Akimichi heir," the blonde recalled. "His father is the head guard of the dungeons, correct?"

"Used to be," Shikamaru corrected. "Now Ino's father is the head guard... and interrogator."

"Busy man," she mused with a light sigh. "Lucky we haven't been caught yet, but it's bound to run out one of these days. I just hope that those bumbling idiots don't get themselves captured. I don't have nearly enough men on my side to rescue anyone just yet."

"Not like Itachi-sama would ever pass up the opportunity to storm the castle to get our most trusted soldiers back," he snorted. "I gotta wonder about that guy, though... he's got this intense look in his eyes. It's something I've never seen before."

"He's been through quite a bit," Tsunade replied lightly, "with his upbringing in the Uchiha household and whatnot."

"Yeah, but..." he seemed to hesitate. "It feels... _unnatural_. There's a fire within them, something that makes my hair stand on end. He's- he's not stable. I fear that his emotions will hinder the mission."

"Need I remind you that he's one of the best we've got?" She pointedly asked, yet not unkindly. "Not that I don't share in some of your concerns, but without him, I honestly don't think we'll be able to take down the son of a bitch once and for all."

* * *

**A/N: Whew, a close call.**

**Tell me what you thought of it! I'll see you next week.**


	32. Chapter 31

**A/N: Just a little in-between chapter starring everyone's favorite blonde rival! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 31: Lamentations of an Heiress_

* * *

"Ino? Ino, dear, please come here."

"Yes, Mother?" The blonde asked, poking her head into the sitting room. Her eyes widened when she saw Shikamaru's mother there, and she quickly curtsied to the older woman. "Mrs. Nara."

"Oh please, Ino, you don't need to do that." The woman chuckled, waving a hand. "Your mother and I were just discussing something."

"Ah, yes, yes." Mrs. Yamanaka nodded primly. She gestured to the chair beside her. "Please, come sit."

"Is... this about the wedding?" Ino asked hesitantly, sitting down with her hands folded in her lap.

"Partially, yes." Yoshino Nara shared a glance with her mother. "As you've been informed, the marriage between our clans will be in approximately two weeks, on the eleventh."

"Yes." She confirmed, frowning. "What about it, may I ask?"

"Dear," Ino's mother began.

Oh, no. Whenever she used that tone, it never meant anything good was about to happen. The way she looked so sympathetic, too... had she been sold off to the army or something?

"As you know, our clans have been close friends with the Akimichi clan for decades. I seem to recall you and the clan heir are good friends." Mrs. Yamanaka explained, placing a hand on her daughter's. "Chouji, as you've heard, has already become a royal soldier."

"Well yes, Shikamaru has been bitter about it," Ino said slowly, still kind of puzzled. Then it hit her. "You don't mean."

"As of the thirteenth, you are to become a soldier, along with Shikamaru," Mrs. Yamanaka confirmed. "You three will fight together in any case that Konoha is attacked. We didn't wish to give you this burden, but your father will be busy with the dungeons, and the elders have no doubts that you three will be able to lead us to victory."

"You will be doing our families a great service, Ino," Yoshino piped up with a sympathetic smile. "With your prowess in your clan's mind-body-swap techniques, and with Shikamaru's intellectual abilities, there's no doubt that you will-"

"No."

Both women were taken aback for a few moments. Both grew silent, and simply stared at her. Ino's mother took her hand back, if only to ball it in her skirts.

Ino's head was bowed, her hair hanging into her face. Her hands were trembling.

"Ino," Mrs. Yamanaka began.

"_No_." The girl slowly looked up, but her face was blank. Nothing except for the slight tremble of her lips gave away the rage she felt inside at the sudden news. "I will not."

Yoshino looked aghast while the brunette looked affronted.

"Whatever do you mean, 'no'?" Her mother demanded. "Are you not satisfied with being the heiress of a powerful clan? Are you not satisfied with the easy life we have given you?"

"Ino, please try to understand," Yoshino pleaded. "The king fears a fullscale war will sever our relations with Sand once and for all! Please, for the sake of your home and country, wouldn't you-"

"_I SAID NO_." She suddenly snapped, jumping to her feet. The others startled, gazing at her with wide eyes. Her eyes burned, and her chest was tight, but she stood over the two women and began to yell at the top of her lungs. "My duty has always been to become a wife and lead the clan with wisdom along with my husband! How dare you make this decision for me?! How dare you uproot the only life I've ever wanted?! My duty is not to be a soldier, it is to lead our family, with or without Shikamaru as my husband!"

"How spoilt must you be!" Her mother roared right back, getting up to stand in her daughter's face. "We have given you _everything_! An excellent education, fancy dresses, the finest of upbringings - how dare you disrespect us this way?"

"When it comes to serving a corrupt king or my family, my duty to my family comes first!" She screamed, her face red with anger. "When it comes to protecting this godforsaken land or my blood, my blood comes first!"

"You have no freedoms here!" Mrs. Yamanaka retorted right back. "In this day and age, you will do as his majesty commands! You are not free to choose your own path! You will live your life compliant without the fear of our family being purged, or you will die a traitor! We will all die as traitors!"

She stared into her mother's eyes, lips tightly shut for a good fifteen seconds as she breathed heavily.

Finally, when she'd begun to breathe normally again, she spoke calmly and quietly, a deadly whisper to force her mother and soon-to-be mother-in-law to listen.

"If I must die for anything, then I will die for what is good," she declared. "Tis better to die for truth than to live for dishonesty."

* * *

The girl abruptly woke with a gasp, sitting up and looking around wildly.

When she remembered where she was, she lay back down, closing her eyes.

_It felt... so real, _she thought to herself in anguish.

"Nightmare?"

She turned to see Temari coming back to her bedroll, an empathetic frown on her face.

She sighed quietly. "Yes."

"They come as commonly as there are blades in a field, I'm afraid," Temari said, sitting down beside her on her bedroll. "Was it of your life before?"

"My mother," Ino recalled with a saddened frown as she sat up. "It was of the last time I spoke to her before I fled."

"Ah." The sandy-haired girl gazed into the sky for a few moments, admiring the stars. "I assume it was an emotional experience."

"I... I rose my voice at her," she solemnly muttered. "I haven't screamed at her like that for as long as I can remember. But I was... just so _angry_..."

"I can relate," Temari nodded. "Sometimes it takes anger to force you to act - but when the heat of the moment dies, it will haunt you."

"What are yours of?" Ino suddenly asked.

Temari grew uncomfortable as she yanked out a blade of grass, "Mine... well, I suppose mine are more of the same," she answered slowly. "Usually, I dream of the last time I spoke to my brother."

"Your brother?" The girl asked.

"My baby brother," she recalled with a wry smile. "Heh... not so much of a baby anymore, is he... He will be the one to be king. I have already passed the crown to him, because I know I would serve him better as his second-in-command. Kankuro wasn't quite born to rule, either. He's content with being a chief poisons expert in our distant cousin's absence."

"Oh, yes, you are the princess of Sand," the younger blonde remembered. "My, uh, condolences."

"Don't give me that now," Temari snorted, with no heat behind her words. "I've accepted that I will probably never see home again. The thing that scares me more... is thinking of how I will die."

"You can't just dwell on that!" Ino insisted, laying a hand on her arm. "You must keep your chin up! Hope! Know that you will survive this!"

"I'm not saying I'm a pessimist, I'm saying that I've come to be at peace with the fact that I will die, no matter what happens." Temari remarked dryly. "I appreciate the concern, but believe me, I'm not worried about hope. I have hope that we will end this conflict."

"But what about your fears of death?" She asked.

"I don't fear death, I fear the road to it," the princess gently corrected. "I know that deep down, we all fear our own demise. I know that you yourself have given it thought more than once."

_"That is true,"_ Ino thought to herself with a nod. _"I can't count the times on both hands that I've been afraid of the great hereafter."_

"But even then, I give myself hope by telling myself that my death will spark a revolution." Temari continued, gazing wistfully at the stars. "Whether it be in battle or from my wounds, I know that I will have contributed to saving this land. I won't have failed my brothers."

She paused for a moment, as if thinking it over. Then, with a mischievous grin, she turned to Ino.

"Then again, perhaps it will spur my brothers to dethrone the damned Uchiha themselves," she chuckled. "Even if it comes to that, I know that all will be well."

* * *

**A/N: I just had to give these two their own chapter. I know some of you have probably been wondering just where in the heck they went, and it gives me an excuse to show what happened right before Ino went to Shikamaru.**

**Tell me what you thought, and I'll see you next week!**


	33. Chapter 32

**A/N: Happy Leap Year! I hope you enjoy more speculation.**

* * *

_Chapter 32: Something About Her_

* * *

Something about Shien was... peculiar, to say the least.

Fugaku had his suspicions of the candy-haired young lady, and it wasn't just because of how paranoid she looked when she thought no one was watching her. Every so often, her mask would crack, and she would look _afraid_ \- but of what, he wasn't quite sure. Most of the time, she had this sullen look about her, as if she were in constant pain.

He was somewhat intrigued. He knew he'd seen her face somewhere before, but he just couldn't recall where. Sometimes in the right lighting he could swear he was seeing Sasuke's deceased childhood friend, Sakura - but just as quickly as he'd swear it was her face, Shien's own would appear and dismiss his speculation. He had asked one of his chief recordkeepers for information about her home, and still it lead him nowhere. Her picture was that of six or seven years prior, and in the photo, her hair was that same baby pink, pulled back into a bun, but her doe eyes appeared turquoise. Most peculiar indeed. Her face was thin with an almost sickly-looking pallor about her, but her gaze seemed kind. Her nose was sharper than it appeared now; actually, her entire countenance seemed to be altered in small ways. Eyes. Nose. Lips. Her eyebrows were notably thicker than the way they looked now, but he excused it as a young girl growing up. A lot could change in several years; he knew it all too well with Sasuke's upbringing.

He continued to look through the file, finding where it mentioned that she was to be married to a young soldier, but he was tragically killed in a clash with Riot only a month before the wedding. Suspiciously, the file ended there - no information more of the girl. It was as if she'd went into hiding... or perhaps she had died. When he asked of the whereabouts of her mother, the recordkeeper replied that her family was in good health, and that as far as he knew, the girl was alive and well - and hadn't she come to the castle in search of work?

Still, something seemed off about her. Was it the way she moved about with the kind of demeanor of someone who'd stared Death in its face? Or the way she seemed to gaze at his son with a kind of sorrow when he was turned away, like she'd done something unspeakable to upset him and didn't dare let him find out?

Once or twice, he'd activated his eyes and watched her, but either she carried the Sharingan herself or she was a master of deflecting its effects - or perhaps she really did just hold an uncanny resemblance to Sasuke's deceased friend. He could find nothing on her, and after two times he didn't bother to look again.

Still puzzled, he decided to speak to his son about it. He'd noticed that she spent most of her time with him nowadays, and he didn't even want to think about what kind of trick Naruto must have been cooking up that morning (the boy had been giggling madly to himself at breakfast, a sure sign of shenanigans to come). For the sake of the laundry maids, he wanted to avoid _that_ fiasco when it inevitably happened. Shenanigans indeed.

He walked through the halls of the castle until he found Sasuke standing at one of the floor-length windows overlooking the forest with a troubled face, as always. Few could read into Sasuke's true emotions much like his own family could; his stance appeared cool enough, but his eyes were endless black storm clouds, bubbling over with a sullen rain as they stared at the green treetops in the valley below.

He used to crave Fugaku's attention like one's favorite dessert when he was a sweet, adorable child... but ever since he turned fourteen, they'd been growing apart. He'd long excused it as that omnipresent sense of teenage rebellion, but the boy was almost nineteen and only sought solace in either Naruto or his mother. _Perhaps he thought that his father was a cowardly sockpuppet too,_ a snide voice in Fugaku's mind whispered to him. _No doubt Itachi felt the same of you. Why else would he have double-crossed you in that way?_

_"He has been far too stressed," _the king sighed to himself. _"Maybe I am wrong to push him so harshly."_

"Sasuke," he greeted as he stood beside him.

"Father," Sasuke replied, glancing up at him. "What brings you here?"

"Something that has been troubling me for quite some time now," Fugaku said before turning fully to face his son. "What do you know of your handmaiden, Hayashi?"

Sasuke startled for a moment before looking away, a deeper frown on his face.

"I..." He hesitated. "I know only of what she has told Naruto."

"So she does not trust even you?" Fugaku asked, eyebrows raised.

"It's a sensitive topic," the boy explained with a light sigh. "She has not felt it appropriate to tell me yet, as it seems."

"I see." The brunet nodded. "Would you mind telling me a little?"

"Why don't you bring it up with her?" The teenager retorted. "What if she doesn't want just anyone knowing her past?"

"Sasuke." Fugaku snapped before he could help himself. He sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. "Please."

"I'll only tell you that she's an orphan and that she's adopted by Hayashi Chiasa," Sasuke hissed, folding his arms across his chest. "She's had a rough time of it. Is that it?"

"I already knew that part of it, son," the king answered tiredly.

"Well I'm not going to say any more." Sasuke squinted at him. "Ask her yourself if you want to know so badly. I'm not her keeper."

He turned on his heel, not even giving his father a second glance. "I need to bathe. Please excuse me."

The king watched him go, frowning. Sasuke was much more temperamental these days.

He finally sighed, turning to leave. "_Perhaps I should give him a weekend at that hot-spring town..."_

* * *

"I'm here," Rin whispered as she walked up to Kakashi. They were more daring now, meeting at dusk, but she had convinced him that meeting with her leader was needed for both of them. If not for trust's sake, perhaps it would settle their nerves. Although the whole adrenaline rush that came from meeting secretly like two young lovers felt energizing the first time, it had quickly lost its luster.

"Any news?" She asked after taking off her hood.

"No, nothing," he answered with a shake of his head. "The king hasn't made a decision yet as to where we should go next."

"Good." She sighed heavily, leaning against his side. "Iris-sama should be here any second."

He nodded, closing his eyes momentarily as he pulled her closer.

After a few moments, their peaceful silence was interrupted. "Look at you two. Not even a week together and you're already getting on famously."

Rin looked up with a smile. "Iris," she greeted.

"Hatake Kakashi." Iris greeted, though she didn't take off her hood. She looked him up and down with a chuckle. "Time has flown. I remember when you were just a boy. Minato's pupil."

"It has been long," he agreed, trying to force away the anguish he felt at the mention of his former teacher's name. "I was told you needed me to investigate something for you?"

"Yes." The blonde woman grew serious, pacing about. "I have reason to believe that the king isn't acting for himself or his family. His actions for the past seven years don't line up with how he acted before."

"Indeed, he was a more benevolent ruler before my..." Rin trailed off, and Kakashi gave her hand a squeeze.

"Yes." Iris gave her a sympathetic nod before continuing. "I believe the Uchihas are being controlled. Someone who no one would suspect, someone who has intimate knowledge of them."

She stopped and pointed at the silver-haired man. "I need you to do some work to uncover who it might be. I don't care about their history, I just need a name."

"Whatever I can do to help R- to help you," he stumbled for a moment before he caught himself, much to the two women's amusement, "I'll do it. Just give me a few days or so, and hopefully I'll have gotten word of something."

"Excellent," Iris replied, pleased. She paused before mentioning, "When you do go back to the capital... check up on Naruto Namikaze for me. Is he okay? Is he safe?"

"He is healthy and still pulling pranks on the staff," he deadpanned with an exhausted look.

Iris let out a bark of laughter before she could stop herself. When at last she regained her composure, she said in reply, "Ah, still Kushina's son, even after all these years."

* * *

**A/N: I'm getting so excited for the reveal. If any of you have already guessed it, please don't spoil it yet!**

**Tell me what you thought. See you next week!**


	34. Chapter 33

**A/N: Increasingly short, but the action is starting up again soon! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 33: Startling News_

* * *

The next day was tense, as the king had called the staff in for another round of questioning. Luckily, Shien was needed elsewhere - Naruto needed her to help him put together several pieces for Sasuke's coronation, which would be in a little over a few weeks. It was disquieting to think about him becoming king so soon, but as she understood, the king was desperate. Obviously, he was afraid of something... but what could Fugaku Uchiha, the man who currently held Fire with an iron fist, possibly fear?

She ruminated about this for a while that morning, until by the afternoon she just couldn't stand it anymore.

She turned to Naruto and asked, "Why is the king so frantic about going through us to root out a traitor?"

Naruto frowned and paused in his work.

She turned to glance at him, and noticed him watching her with a troubled eye.

"You... you promise you won't tell anyone?" He asked in a hushed voice.

She scrunched up her nose and nodded. "Of course. Why?"

"It's a bit of a... sensitive topic," he coughed. "From what I understand, Sasuke's dad is super stressed right now because of orders from his great-grandpa."

"Great-grandpa?" She asked incredulously. "Do you mean-"

"Madara Uchiha, and no, he's not dead." Naruto sighed, glancing upward. "Sasuke swears up and down he's seen him around, but I've never caught a glimpse. He says that apparently he lives up in one of the tallest towers above the chapel, but nobody knows for sure."

"What- but-" She sputtered. "How in the world does he get up and down, then? I've never seen any entrance to the towers!"

"That's because he doesn't want people goin' up there and seeing him," Naruto explained patiently, with a nod towards the big double-doors at the end of the room. "The staircase is hidden somewhere only the king and queen know. Sasuke's asked a million times, and he still doesn't know."

"That's... rather strange," she observed with a frown. "I thought he died in the Battle of Konohagakure approximately fifty years ago."

"That's what everyone says," Naruto replied with a strange gleam in his eye, "but Sasuke is insistent that he's still alive."

She shook her head, stunned. Tsunade had told her the tale of how her grandfather had died against Madara in the skirmishes fifty-something years before, when _she_ was only a teenager. She'd vowed with thinly-veiled hatred that she would avenge her beloved grandfather by taking down the kingdom that Madara had created, and instead instill the government Hashirama had wanted - she would be the first Hokage in the city's history, completely doing away with the monarchy for good.

Of course, Tsunade had said it in a spark of anger after learning of Sakura's rocky past with Sasuke's family, and even now she admitted that, if anything, she would probably just crown a new king and queen, one that she was sure would govern fairly. Sakura had joked many a time that she would make a good queen, but the blonde woman deflected every time.

She gazed out of the window she was washing with a sinking feeling in her heart.

_"Mother, what will we do now?" _She thought in despair. _"What can we do against the most powerful shinobi to ever live? If it is true, then all hope is lost!"_

* * *

"Tsunade-sama, an urgent message from Hatake," Temari reported as she handed the woman a note.

"Oh, excellent!" She exclaimed, unfolding it. "He must have found the identity... of the..."

As she read, her joy faded into shock.

"Deidara has been captured?" She sputtered, her brow arching in anger. "And so has Hidan?!"

Temari could only watch, dumbfounded, as the woman became enraged, slamming her fist down on a folding table. It cracked in half from the impact, and the girl jumped when it fell to the tent floor in two pieces.

Tsunade paused in her rage and stared at the table for a moment in shocked disbelief.

"Dammit, that was my only table," Tsunade took a moment to mutter, disappointed, before she shook her head violently. "This is ridiculous! We need to double our efforts. No, _triple_ our efforts! We cannot let them go!"

"What do you suggest?" The sandy-haired girl managed to ask.

Tsunade's eyes gleamed as she pointed to her. "I'm sending you and Shikamaru on a little reconnaissance mission for me. Go into the capital and scope out the castle. If you can, slip away to the dungeons. I need you to report back to me about any weak links in their defenses."

"Yes, ma'am." Temari saluted her and strode quickly out of the tent.

Tsunade sighed harshly, falling down onto her bedroll. She stared sadly at the table pieces, muttering to herself. "I liked that table, too..."

She shook her head for a moment. "No. Focus, Tsunade. You need to get all hands on deck to rescue them."

As soon as Noh came into the tent, she stood again.

"What's happened?" Noh asked in alarm. "Have we been found out?"

"No, much worse." The blonde sighed heavily once more. "Deidara and Hidan have been captured. We need to rescue them, otherwise we won't stand a chance against them. Our deal with Akatsuki will be off for good. We can't afford to do the invasion without Pain's help."

"What do we need to do?" The brunette asked.

"I need to create several teams to scope out the capital. I've already told Temari to go with Shikamaru, but I need about four more." She muttered, pacing around the tent. "Obviously, I can count on Itachi to spy with Kisame, but then we have the risk of them being spotted and recognized..."

Noh watched her shuffle around for a few moments before finally grabbing her arm.

"Tsunade, _please_, calm down." She ordered. "Sit down, have a drink, and we can talk this out."

"Fine," the woman replied, flopping down onto her bedroll. She took out her water bottle and took a few hefty gulps before popping the top back on and setting it down with a satisfied noise.

"Alright, I'm calmer," she announced. "Go call in Aika and the soldiers. Also, be prepared to write a note to Itachi."

"And Hinata?" Noh pressed.

Tsunade thought about it for a few moments before sighing. "Yes, I suppose we must."

* * *

**A/N: For those of you who guessed it, yes, Madara is behind this entire thing! And yet there's still more. If you've guessed it from these hints alone, again, please don't spoil it yet!**

**Tell me what you thought. See you next week!**


	35. Chapter 34

**A/N: Have this one a little early. This one's gonna be longer and with some backstory, so I hope you enjoy this little SasuSaku moment!**

* * *

_Chapter 34: Fiery Premonition_

* * *

_A wall of fire surrounded her as she ran through Morino. The skies were navy, nearly black, as if it were night, and the orange-red flames reached endlessly to the skies._

_She was thirteen again, dressed in the thin gray nightgown with the darker gray sash tied in a bow that she always used to wear to bed. She was confused and frightened; She had, for some reason, been left behind in the attack._

_"Help! Help me!" She cried out, holding her arm. She'd awoke in this hellish landscape by falling into a forgotten katana on the ground, and she was almost certain it had broken in her fall. Luckily it hadn't been stuck in the ground, otherwise she wasn't certain she would have survived it._

_She looked around wildly, trying to find survivors. Where had Tsunade gone? Noh? Karin?_

_"Mother!" She screamed, racing to the village center. "Mother, where are you?"_

_She thought she saw the silhouette of someone walking up ahead through the fire, and she ran towards them. "Wait for me!"_

_The person stopped, turned around, and in that moment the flames lit up their face._

_She stopped short, a look of shocked betrayal on her face. "Sasuke?"_

_His eyes were activated, the scarlet gleaming in the flames. The tomoe were sharp contrasts against the pool of glowing ruby, and his expression was mostly unreadable, save for the moisture pricking his eyes from the heat. Twelve again, with the same bedhead hairstyle he'd had since they were children._

_"You brought this on yourself, Sakura," he said far too calmly. He didn't turn his entire body so that he could look at her, instead merely watching her over his right shoulder. "If you hadn't run away, the people of Morino would still be alive."_

_"No, I- I didn't-" She protested weakly, tears filling her own eyes. "I didn't mean for this to-"_

_"Look at what you've done to yourself," he continued, as if discussing the weather. "You'll never be the same again. You're broken."_

_"I'm not!" She insisted, taking a step towards him. He didn't budge an inch, and yet still seemed a hundred yards away from her. "Sasuke, please! I didn't mean to hurt you! I didn't mean to hurt anyone! All I wanted-"_

_"-Was to get revenge," he interrupted in a deadpan voice. He slowly turned, and as he did, his face changed. It grew older, more solemn. He was turned to the right, yet never broke her gaze. His body seemed to melt into the roaring fire, and she caught a silvery trail down his cheek as he gazed at her sadly with coal-black irises. His hair tamed somewhat in the flames, his bangs messier and falling into his eyes the way they did now at age eighteen._

_"Everything is your fault, Sakura," he said. "Look at what you've done to me. I never would have awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan without your cowardice. Look at yourself. Your family is broken. Your friends are traumatized. Face it: While you fight against a regime you fear, you leave a trail of destruction in your wake. You're no better than me, the dragon to his king, Madara."_

_"No!" She cried out, trying to move her body. She couldn't move her legs, nor her arms; all she could do was stand there, knees knocking together, as her back trembled with emotion. "I- I'm not a murderer, like your father is! I'm better than this!"_

_He slowly shook his head. A pitying look gleamed in his eye._

_"Because of your actions, a entire village was destroyed, its townspeople murdered in cold blood." He replied. "Because of you, Morino will cease to exist."_

_"N- no, I..." She tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat. Tears burned in her eyes as her wobbling knees gave way and she fell to the ground. "I- I..."_

_He continued to stare at her for a few moments more before he closed his eyes and sighed._

_When he opened them again, they were red once more, his tomoe spinning rapidly._

_"I pity you, Sakura, I really do." He sighed. "But moreso I pity the ones who have suffered because of your greed. I pity your parents for giving birth to you. I pity Naruto for having loved you so dearly. I even pity Tsunade for having to pick up the slack when you ran away a foolish traitor."_

_"Stop... please..." she sobbed, gripping her nightgown with tight fists._

_"I pity Arata most of all for having such a heartless demon of a sister," he continued, a hateful gleam in his visible eye. "It's really quite a shame that he'll never see the day when he learns the truth of his birth. Unless you come clean, he will never have the chance to meet you again. You will break your promise, and he will die at my hand."_

_Without another word, he turned his back to her. Ignoring her pleads for him to come back, he vanished into the flames, leaving her to be engulfed in the fire._

_Just as the smoke began to veil her vision, her eyes snapped open, Sasuke's name on her lips._

* * *

She awoke abruptly, her hands tangled in the disheveled sheets. Sweat dampened her brow and felt cool against the back of her neck on her pillow. Her hair stuck to any inch of exposed skin it could, and when she swept her hand across her face to remove it, a few strands caught on her dry lips.

She panted, trying to calm her racing heart at the nightmare. Never before had she had one quite as vivid as this one had been, and she'd seen just about everything, from her mother dying in childbirth to her _own_ death at the hands of the prince himself, Madara's face a morbid swap for his own.

She let out a whimper, hugging her knees to her chest. A single tear made its way down her cheek as she reflected on the dream.

"It's my fault," she whispered in despair. "It's all my fault."

The last thing he'd said to her had really struck her deep. Even though she'd only met him once, she could tell he was a wonderful boy. Her parents had obviously raised him with the love and care she recalled from her own childhood, and it sent a pang of regret through her heart. What if she failed him? What if he died before the war was over? What if... what if he hated her for all that she'd done? What if he hated her for abandoning them? For abandoning her mother when she had needed her most?

She decided to get up and watch the stars to try and feel sleepy again. She grabbed the mint green robe she'd been given and slipped it on, tying it tight around her waist. She crept along the tiled floor to the door and slipped out, wrapping her arms around herself as she walked up to the massive floor-length windows that were in the hall.

She blinked, and the tears in her eyes dribbled freely down her cheeks. She sniffled, wiping her nose with a handkerchief that Noh had given her before she left.

_"What if I was wrong?"_ She thought desperately, looking over the sprawling forests surrounding the castle behind. _"Maybe I'm making a mistake... maybe I should just leave. I could try and smuggle a letter to Mother and pretend I have a 'family emergency'."_

She heard a doorknob turning from beside her and she stiffened for a moment.

Sasuke poked his head out from his room, hair disheveled and eyelids sagging, but the moment he realized it was her he became more alert, glancing back into his room (presumably to see if Naruto was still asleep) before exiting the room and walking out into the hallway, shutting the door quietly.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"Yeah," she whispered, trying to stop crying. She wiped at her eyes, stuffing the handkerchief into the pocket of her robe. "You could say that."

"Are you alright?" He asked in concern, reaching for her face. "You've been crying."

"Just..." She trailed off with a heavy sigh, giving him a glance before looking back up at the starry night sky, "just... nightmares."

She could hardly look at him, not when his anguished face was still burned into her mind's eye.

He seemed to understand, giving a slow nod and shifting back and forth awkwardly in his spot.

"Was... was _I_ in it?" He asked quietly, gaze dropping to the floor.

She turned to face him, studying him for a second. He was quite exhausted, the dark half-moons under his eyes pronounced even in the dim light of the hallway. He was swaying almost invisibly on his feet.

She felt guilty for having snubbed him, but the memories of what she'd seen kept resurfacing. She didn't know whether it was from exhaustion or paranoia, but she kept seeing the visions of his impassive face, deceptively calm, but with the rage burning in those blood-red eyes like the flames that suffocated her.

She quietly sighed once more, hesitating, before she reached out to touch his arm.

He remained still as she gently grasped his shoulder instead, shaking her own head in sorrow.

"It was of..." she swallowed thickly, but continued, "... something that happened in the past."

He looked up with a troubled look in his eye. "... it was of death, wasn't it?" He asked in almost a whisper.

She slowly nodded.

"I know how you feel," he said, slowly turning to gaze out of the windows. "For the past six years, I've dreamed of my loved ones dying. Mother, Father..."

He clenched his eyes shut for a moment, but ground out, "Itachi."

"The long-gone prince?" She asked gently.

He nodded his head stiffly, opening his eyes to stare determinedly at the tops of the trees. His eyes were blazing with anger, but thankfully he didn't seem to be in danger of activating his bloodlimit. She honestly didn't think she could stand to see those scarlet eyes again without reliving the smoky horror.

"He left us after the ambush at Morino," he explained. "Mother, Father, Itachi, and I have been plagued by nightmares for as long as any of us can remember. It comes with the curse. It forces us to relive our worst failures and our deepest fears so that we can bring out our power."

"Fire..." she muttered in wonder, remembering at least one time where she'd seen him angry enough to summon flames to his hands.

"Yes." He nodded once more. He lifted his left hand and clenched it tightly for a few seconds before releasing, watching the pink crescent marks slowly fade away. "Mother never speaks of them, Father has learned to control it, but I... still have much to learn. Itachi was always silent about them to Father, but sometimes... when I lay feigning sleep, he would come to my room and speak of them with me."

"From what I can remember..." he paused, rapping his fingers on his leg as he thought. "... He often dreamt of our cousin Shisui dying in his arms. Or of Mother dying in battle... or... of me."

He fell silent after the words left his mouth, contemplating something, from the look of his downcast gaze.

"The worst of them, I think," he continued, scrunching up his face in a frown, "were the ones of our cousin Obito dying."

"You had another cousin?" She asked curiously. She wondered about him; she hadn't remembered him around the palace when she was a little girl. Sasuke's parents certainly hadn't mentioned him very much around them.

"Yes, a long time ago," he confirmed. "He was from one of our great-uncles, I think. He was much older than both of us, already married by the time Naruto and I had reached adolescence."

Shien distantly recognized him, and remembered that Rin had spoken of him fondly during the rare times she wanted to confide in someone about how she felt. Normally, she went to Tsunade, but very rarely when Tsunade was away would she go to Sakura.

"Married..." She repeated quietly to herself. Loud enough that he could hear, she asked, "Is he... deceased?"

Here, Sasuke went quiet for a few moments. The only sound he made was of his breathing, but although his breaths were relaxed, his body was rigid, his eyes stormy with anguish. His hands clenched and relaxed rhythmically, once, twice, three times in succession.

Finally, he replied, "Obito... Obito was a soldier when his squadron went to the Honsen Pass. The- the bridge they were fighting on suddenly exploded, and the entire squadron - almost all of them, thirty soldiers - and Naruto's parents were killed. Some say it was an accident, but most claim that it was planned... that Obito was fighting for the enemy."

Her eyes went wide in shock and she stared at him in horror.

"That's what happened to Naruto's parents?" She gasped.

He nodded grimly. "He's never... quite recovered. Neither have any of us, really. Mother and Father were very close to them. Ever since Aunt Kushina died, Mother hasn't been the same."

"Oh, Kami-sama," she breathed, staggering forward a step as if physically struck. She hadn't had much contact with the palace as she grew up, and she'd heard of a 'great tragedy' for the royal family, but... she never could have imagined _this_!

"The last I heard of Cousin's wife, she tragically drowned in the Oshi river just out of town." Sasuke sighed heavily, smoothing back his bangs, only to frown when they fell right back into place. "Itachi was... well, I don't exactly know how much it affected him, but at least to me he didn't seem all that sad about it. Just plagued with nightmares."

"But what of your cousin Shisui?" She asked weakly, regaining her composure as she steadied herself against the wall.

Here, he shrugged loosely. "That's the one mystery we haven't been able to solve. One night, Itachi barged into our parents' room and said that Shisui was in some kind of danger. Father promised him that he would be protected, but... the next day, Itachi discovered that Shisui was just... gone. Vanished without a trace."

He turned to give her a wry smile. "It's funny, you know? One moment, Father is so concerned about our dear cousin, but the next, it's like he never existed to begin with."

His smile dropped in the next moment, and he rested a hand against the glass, gazing up at the sky. "To be honest," he said slowly, "if Itachi ever had any reason to snap, I feel that must have been it. That's the one thing I know he never forgave Father for."

"Yeah, I know how that feels," she agreed, folding her arms across her chest. "To be faced with indifference when you try to call for action... especially when it concerns your dearest friend..."

"He tried his best to hide his resentment, but, sometimes, I saw him weeping." He confessed. "Always in the tapestry room, where we keep our patriarch statue. He would go there every night after midnight and would stay until morning."

"It must have been so heartbreaking for him," she lamented, clasping her hands over her heart.

"Itachi always had a gentle soul," Sasuke affirmed, his lips tugging into a fond smile. "He always had a calming air about him. He hardly ever rose his voice, but when he did, it always seemed to command your attention."

"But... Father suddenly decided that Itachi was too soft," he glowered, his fingers digging into the cold glass. "Suddenly, he reversed our roles; I was the crown prince, and he decided to make Itachi one of the major generals of the royal army."

"It was almost like he banished him, simply because of his grief." Sasuke's shoulders were tensed, his tone soft, yet simmering with deep-seated anger. "The week after Father made the choice, Itachi snapped. That night, the castle was attacked, and Itachi murdered one of Father's closest advisors right in front of him."

"I... I tried to stop him, but-" He choked, pausing for a few moments before starting again. "-but what could I do? I was only thirteen, weak, and I was too blinded by my own emotions. He managed to land a solid hit on me, and by the time Naruto was picking me back up, he was gone."

Shien listened with a sinking heart. She'd never heard Itachi's escape story, and always assumed that he'd just disappeared during a raid, like so many in their ranks usually had. But seeing now what it had done to Sasuke was heartbreaking.

It had obviously cut him deeply, as even now his right eye grew shiny in the dim lights. His left hand was clenched to his chest, and he still leaned on his right, but when she looked into his eyes, she could see glimpses of his fear, and all at once the solemn face from her dream flashed before her.

"Sasuke..." she crooned, reaching over to hug him.

He froze in his spot, his shoulders tensing even more.

His hand was like a barrier between them, and it dug uncomfortably into her ribs when she tried to calm him down. She could feel a faint heat emanating from it, strong enough to be felt through her robe and nightgown. For a brief moment, she tensed, remembering the hellfire from her nightmare, but she forced her heart to calm.

_"It's Sasuke, the real Sasuke,"_ she firmly told herself. _"This Sasuke... he would not hurt me."_

After what seemed like the longest thirty seconds of her life, she finally felt his body relax a little, and he pulled his left hand out from between them.

He bowed his head enough so that it was half-hidden in her shoulder, and she instinctively reached up to lace her fingers through his mussed-up hair.

He sighed quietly, his breath warm through her robe. Slowly, tentatively, he reached around and gently rested his arm on her lower back, pulling her in closer.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him, closing her eyes as she basked in his omnipresent warmth. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke."

For a moment, his voice from her dream echoed in her ears: _"You brought this on yourself, Sakura."_

She was brought back to the present when Sasuke squeezed her gingerly, letting go of the glass to cradle the back of her head in his hand.

"You've done nothing, Shien," he murmured back. His breath hitched for a second before he continued. "Just being here is enough."

When the words left his lips, she allowed herself to smile brokenly, her eyes growing misty. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through his familiar, soft, raven-black hair as she allowed her tears to flow again, this time with the safe presence of the boy she still loved.

* * *

**A/N: A bit emotional. Also, more backstory for Itachi!**

**Tell me what you thought, and I'll see you all next week!**


	36. Chapter 35

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Please enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 35: Unsettling Notes and Child's Drawings_

* * *

The next morning, Shien awoke to a beautiful dawn, the birds chirping faintly outside of her window.

She yawned, stretched, and opened the window, basking in the sweet, humid July air. The gentle morning breeze passed her by, ruffling her hair and filling her nose with the scent of flowers.

She smiled to herself. She felt strangely refreshed after the night before, and her heart felt light after the catharsis with Sasuke. Perhaps it's what her body needed, after all of the stress it had been put under.

"It's going to be a beautiful day today," she murmured to herself as she closed the window and slipped out of bed.

She went about her morning duties, humming an old tune that was popular when she was a child. She bathed, dressed, and was knocking gently on Sasuke's door at exactly six o'clock.

Upon hearing Naruto's drowsy voice from within, she cracked the door open and smiled at the two boys, Sasuke poking his head out from beneath his covers to see her.

"Good morning," she greeted with a smile as she walked in. "It's time to wake up. I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast."

The prince nodded, and Naruto gave a grunt as she set down the fresh basin of water and a towel before exiting and shutting the door. She heard him yawn loudly, but it was interrupted by a squawk of surprise before something clattered to the tile floor. She heard the blond shout "Why'd you throw a pen at me, bastard?!" before she walked away, giggling to herself.

Some things just never changed.

* * *

It was quite the uneventful day, overall. More of helping Naruto with the decorations, eating lunch with Sasuke and his parents - and wondering about the king's pensive gaze out the windows.

She was walking to her room when she accidentally bumped into a taller man with silver hair.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She apologized, looking up at the soldier. "I should've watched where I was going."

"It's no trouble at all," the masked man said, his the wrinkles around his eye appearing, as if he were smiling. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small folded note, handing it to her. "A message from Chiasa."

She immediately recognized the name and gave him a grateful nod, pocketing the paper. "Thank you. I'll try to respond as soon as I can."

He glanced around before leaning in. "She wished for me to tell you that the lady quite misses your presence, and that when your tenure expires she wants you to become her personal guard."

"Does she now?" Shien was pleasantly surprised. She hadn't expected Hinata to feel that way. She was kind of expecting the young woman to be uncomfortable with her at this point, but she definitely wasn't complaining. "Let her know that I'd be happy to."

"Of course." The guard bowed his head for a moment before strolling casually away.

She watched him go before hurrying quicker back to her room, eager to read the note.

As soon as she reached their hallway, she found Naruto walking towards her.

"Oh, hey Shien!" He greeted as she stopped a few feet away. "You wanna come hang out in Sasuke's room for a while? We're gonna play Travelers!"

"Oh, I don't know..." she trailed off, glancing to her pocket. "I've got mail to read..."

"Please?" Naruto begged, clasping his hands together. "We need a ref, and you're the perfect one! Uncle Fugaku is too strict on the rules, and Aunt Mikoto doesn't take us seriously!"

She hesitated. Naruto was supernaturally good at using puppy eyes against others, she'd noticed. She'd even seen the king, the most powerful man in the kingdom, fall victim to the infamous Namikaze Puppy Eyes a time or two since arriving. It seemed to be an open secret that once Naruto unleashed his Puppy Eyes no Jutsu, you would inevitably fall for it. At least he didn't abuse it like the Rasengan or Kage Bunshin. She'd heard a wonder of stories about those two techniques used together, along with one 'Sexy no Jutsu'. That boy was insatiable.

Finally, she sighed. "Alright, I can ref for you."

"All right!" He cheered, grabbing her hand and pulling her in. "Oi, Sasuke! She said she'd be our ref!"

Said prince was sitting at the desk, a board and game pieces set up in front of him. He looked over at them, giving Shien a wincing smile.

"The Eyes?" he mouthed. When she nodded, he shrugged, as if to say _"What can you do?"_

"All right, you can sit over here!" he gestured to a chair near the fireplace, where a good blaze was going. She settled into the cushy chair with a pleasant sigh. _"Note to self: ask the queen about her decorating secrets before I leave. I could die in these armchairs."_

Speaking of leaving, she brightened when she remembered the note in her pocket. She reached for it, but then hesitated. The boys were only a few feet away, starting a board game. Naruto was going over the booklet of rules and Sasuke was shuffling the deck of cards.

She bit her lip. Should she?

_"It's now or never," _she finally decided, reaching to slip it out.

When she flipped it open, another note fell out. She swiftly caught it and put it in her lap. She smiled at the familiarity of Noh's handwriting... but her face dropped when she began reading.

"_The prized clay pot's been misplaced. We won't have any more religious rites for a while. The storm is brewing quickly now; on the night of the lightning strike, you must douse the fire in the hearth... or else._"

She lowered the note to her lap, frowning. The clay pot must have meant that Deidara was missing. And if he was missing, then 'religious rites' no doubt meant that Hidan was out too.

_"Damn," _she thought as she turned to gaze at the flames. The invasion must have been moved up because of Deidara and Hidan, and they wanted her to... t- to kill...

Sasuke must have looked over and noticed her troubled look, because he stood from his chair and walked over.

"Are you okay?" He asked in concern.

She blinked and turned to look at him, the light from the fire blinding her a bit. "Huh? Yeah, I'm- I'm fine."

"You don't look it." He snorted, sitting next to her. He noticed the note in her hand and gently plucked it out. He scanned through it quickly, scrunching up his nose.

"Are you..." he hesitated for a moment, but he turned and asked, "Are you... receiving blackmail?"

"What? No." She answered quickly - maybe a bit too quickly, because his eyes narrowed in distrust.

He shook his head, stood, and tossed it into the flames. He turned back to face her, dusting off his hands. "Don't worry so much. If you ever get weird mail like that, tell me, and I'll personally make sure that no one ever threatens you again."

He said it so nonchalantly, but as he turned away she could see the stiffness in his hands. It bothered him immensely, but she doubted he'd ever divulge why. For some reason, it made her heart skip a beat.

She glanced back at the fire, trying to locate the note. It had burned rather quickly, because she didn't see it anymore. Truthfully, she was kind of glad he'd done her job for her; less chance for her to be discovered if she was so careless again.

But then came time to read the other note. As she held it up and flipped it open, her eyes widened a fraction at childish, scrawling handwriting.

_"thank you for helping me get Momma's comb back. I think your very pretty. thank you angel."_

It was signed 'from Arata'. It promptly made her heart begin to ache. The paper had a drawing of him holding hands with both her and what looked like Noh on a sunny day, all three of them smiling widely. Her parents were in the background, but the drawing's main focus was of her, Arata, and Noh. The drawing radiated a childish innocence that made her keel over a little, her hand going to her heart as it began to ache. Sasuke glanced her way in concern for a moment before going back to the game.

She cursed herself, folding the paper again. Just when she had gotten over her guilt of leaving him behind, he is sweet and adorable and makes her feel worse. Dammit, she just wanted to run away and apologize to him and feed him all of the sweet bread in the world (a treat usually reserved for a birthday for their family). Kami.

Naruto's angry, raised voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she rose her head to look quizzically at them.

"No, you're cheating!" The blond exclaimed, showing him his tiles. "The rules say IF you have to pass up three turns, not WHEN you decide to!"

"If you have to and when you have to are the same thing, idiot," Sasuke snapped back.

"You clearly have enough cards to use your turns, teme!" Naruto declared, looking over at Shien. "Back me up here! Aren't I right?"

She pocketed the drawing, standing and walking over to them. She studied the board with a contemplative hum. "What's the problem now?"

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed that little bit of banter. Also, adorable Arata is adorable, even when he's not actually present.**

**Ugh, I've been playing the heck out of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It's so addictive!**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	37. Chapter 36

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 36: Horrifying News_

* * *

That night, after the boys' game was done, Shien hurried back to her room and penned a reply under lamplight. She hid the note inside the left-hand pocket of her robe, hung to the side of the floor-length mirror on the wall, and fell asleep.

When the morning came, she went about her duties with a feeling like she had to hurry. She got to the boys' door a full two minutes early, causing them to be ahead of schedule at the end of the morning by a full ten minutes (much to the king's surprised pleasure as she reported for breakfast).

Once Sasuke was ushered away for lessons and Naruto told her to follow him to the large banquet hall in the east wing, she bumped into the gray-haired gentleman guard again.

She slipped him the note, thanking him for the pleasant surprise the night before. His only reply was a smile and a ruffling of her hair, mindful of her high ponytail.

Once that was done, she hurried off to her duties, hopeful that the news within wouldn't be too much of a shock to her mother or Noh.

* * *

Later that evening, Noh stood under a tree, anxiously awaiting Kakashi's arrival.

She bit her lip, nervous. _"What's wrong with me? It's just Kakashi. Could it be that I'm still... untrusting of him?"_

"It's been years since I've seen him," she mused to herself with a light chuckle. "He really has grown since we were teenagers. I remember having the biggest crush on him when we were children. Before Obi..."

_"Could it be..."_

She was interrupted by one of their men appearing from behind a tree, pulling out a letter from his coat.

"Message from the palace, Cypress-sama," he said, bowing quickly and thrusting the letter into her hands.

He was gone as quickly as he appeared, and before she had the chance to thank him. She rose her eyebrows at the note and quickly unfolded it, skimming through it.

Her eyes widened at the news. "What...?"

_"Cypress,_

_Kami-sama be with you, and greetings. During my twenty-nine days in the palace I've managed to learn some truly disturbing news. I pray that I don't shock you too much with my findings, but this is what I've managed to garner:_

_The man behind the man, that is to say, the puppetmaster pulling the strings of the King, is none other than Madara Uchiha. Supposedly, he's still alive and living right here in the castle underneath our noses. As for why he's been pushing the king to kill you, I don't have an answer yet. I pray that I'm not discovered before I can relay it to you; it feels more and more that the king is growing suspicious of foul play in the palace. If I don't make it back before the invasion, my only request is that you bury me beside my deceased Kaede's grave._

_Whatever the case, I wish you luck. Please say hello to Iris for me, and let the lady, Dahlia, know that my heart grows fonder for her companionship every day I'm away._

_With love and earnest prayers, Violet"_

She let out a shaky breath, resting her head against the tree.

"So he's still kicking," she breathed aloud, squeezing her eyes shut. "Dammit... I suppose he found the secret to immortality, then...? Did he manage to find honorable Tobirama's Edo Tensei technique after all?"

"Rin?" Kakashi's voice made her eyes open, and she let out a sob when he came to her.

"Kakashi, I fear we're doomed," she greeted him with a desperate hug, the letter still clutched in her fingers.

"Why? What's happened?" He asked, alarmed. "Did the king's spies find you? Is- is Violet okay? I don't believe I left her in danger-"

"She's okay for now, but- just, read this!" She let go of him and thrust the letter into his hands.

He was quiet while he read through it, and it made the fears gnawing at her grow by the second.

When he got to Madara's name, he paused, his visible eye widening a fraction. "So it is true."

"You knew of this?" She gasped.

"I only thought it was a rumor among the guards," he replied, handing the note back. "But I guess I was wrong."

"Tell me everything you know," she demanded, shaky.

"First, you need to calm down and breathe." He ordered, sitting her down on the grass. "What I'm going to tell you is going to upset you, and I need you calm for it."

She nodded, obeying by taking deep gulps of air. When at last her breathing was back to normal, she nodded, silently telling him to begin.

"Okay, where do I start..." He hummed. "I guess it was right after... after Obito died... I was stationed in the castle for a time, because the king was worried of an assassination attempt by the rebels. We were still grieving the loss, and I guess I was just hoping that Obito's death was a diversion."

"Well," he continued, "The very first day that I came to the castle, I saw someone that, looking back on it, I probably wasn't ever meant to see. I saw a hooded figure, no skin showing. When I called out to them, they turned around, and all I could see was this... bright orange, swirly mask under their long black bangs. The thing that stuck out most about the mask was that it reminded me of Naruto, for whatever odd reason."

"And?" Rin implored, eyes wide. "What else did you see?"

He hesitated for a moment, but finally sighed. "Well, I tried to see into the mask's eyehole, but all I could see was this one red, glowing eye."

A sharp gasp ripped through her lips and she stuttered, "Y- you don't mean-"

"The hooded figure I saw was definitely Madara," he agreed, Obito's eye throbbing at the revelation. "And what I saw was the Uchiha eye. I saw the Sharingan."

A fresh sob escaped her lips, and she fell into his chest, the shock and horror ripping at her heart.

Were they too late? Were the wishes of a thought-to-be-long-dead murderer finally growing closer to fruition?

Somewhere in the back of Rin's mind, she heard the sorrowful voice of Obito - his last words before he left to die - _"I'm sorry, Rin. But this is something we must do..."_

* * *

**A/N: And the last horse crosses the finish line! And happy birthday to Sakura!**

**Also: I know I probably should've addressed it earlier, but I've grown tired of seeing it everywhere: Stay safe, everyone. Stay at home, do whatever you have to do to stop the spread of COVID-19. I myself have been under a self-administered quarantine for the past week and a half. Do whatever you can to flatten the curve and stay healthy. Alrighty, PSA over! I promise, that's the only time you'll hear me talk about it (unless I get it, of course. Don't wanna jinx myself)!**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	38. Chapter 37

**A/N: Heyo! A bit of a longer chapter (my longest to date, actually). Enjoy some Naruto/Sakura friendship!**

* * *

_Chapter 37: Lemon Balm For the Soul_

* * *

A few days had gone by, and Sasuke had decided to spend as much of his time with Shien as he could.

His mother had reminded him that he was to be coronated on his birthday, and that it would be unwise to spend too much time with his personal servant once he ascended the throne (something-something-politics, something-something-rumors). He reluctantly agreed, although he was secretly happy that neither his mother nor father were pressing him too hard to get married beforehand to some random noblewoman that was no doubt only in it for the status and paygrade.

He'd been hinting to Shien that he wouldn't mind if they got married (for completely political matters, mind you), but unfortunately she kept reacting very strangely to those hints. She'd taken quickly to cleaning and helping the staff with the ballroom instead of hanging out with him or Naruto. It was almost like... she was avoiding him?

But no, she couldn't be avoiding him because of _that_, right? Sasuke really didn't see why she was being so weird about it. He knew they were at least good-ish friends at this point, and he didn't want to just cease contact with her once he was king. The next best plan was to get a quiet marriage so that they could continue to be friends! It didn't even need to be romantic... not that he'd have any problem with that, of course.

... or was he taking the wrong steps to rectify this?

... Nah, of course he wasn't. Kings did that kinda thing all the time. Surely it wasn't because he was _secretly in love with her_ or anything. No, he definitely wasn't. He just felt like it would be a waste of a friendship if they both moved on to different things. He felt like it was a waste to have to discard her with as little emotion that his parents expected of him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Shien was internally freaking out.

Ever since the queen had taken Sasuke aside and told him about his coronation day, he'd been hinting to her that they should get married. As much as _Sakura_ still loved him, she honestly couldn't tell at this point if he reciprocated those feelings towards _Shien_.

And with the guilt of the impending invasion day weighing more and more on her every passing day, she felt like she could either cry or start breaking things. Starting with that smug-ass Madara statue in the hallway, king and queen be damned.

She'd given him a customary "Might wanna wait a little, I need to think this through" response and quickly hid in her room, under her covers, but she knew that he was asking about her every time she locked herself away.

She couldn't hide away in her room forever. She still had her duties to attend to. But she just didn't feel like seeing the prince's face every morning anymore.

On the day in the garden, when they'd almost kissed, his feelings for Sakura had been crystal clear. It hardly mattered what he felt for Shien; she was irrelevant when it came to Sakura. She highly doubted he'd think so highly of her if she revealed who she truly was.

_"He'd hate me," _she mourned quietly to herself. _"He'd be so shocked, and then he'd utterly loathe me for what I've done. Perhaps that dream is supposed to become a reality. Perhaps... perhaps we were never meant to come together again."_

She knew she couldn't just avoid either of them until the invasion. One, it was massively unfair, and two, eventually they'd get suspicious and start digging.

So she sighed, crawled out of bed, and went out in search of Naruto. If there was one thing she'd come to know lately, it was that despite his apparent obliviousness, he could shell out some damn good advice.

At this point in the day, the late afternoon, he would most likely be in the gardens. So she headed down to the family's private garden, giving a polite nod to the guards stationed at the door.

As soon as she walked out into the warm afternoon sunshine, she spotted him at the far end, kneeling beside two stone somethings.

Oh.

_Oh._

She grew more somber as she headed towards him, the twin graves becoming clearer as she walked. His posture was mostly relaxed, thankfully, so at least he didn't seem to be in a horrible mood.

As soon as she was a few feet away, he rose his head and turned to glance at her over his shoulder.

"Hey," he greeted with a soft smile as she came to stand beside him. "I didn't know you were looking for me."

"If the moment is too personal, I can leave," she trailed off. Sprigs of beautifully-painted pansies were blooming at the graves, the orange and white blooms waving in the gentle afternoon breeze.

"What? No no no no no, you don't have to go." He shook his head, gesturing to the stones. "I was just talking with my parents. It really helps, y'know? Helps clear away the guilt."

She nodded slowly. "Yes... I guess it would."

"Here, sit." He patted the grass beside himself. "I know you've probably never met them, but I know Mom would've loved you."

"I... have met them, once upon a time ago," she recalled with a soft look at the gravestones. "They came to our village to help protect us from the Snake. They were very good people."

Technically, she was telling the truth, she mused. She remembered fondly watching Kushina and Minato when she was a young child, but she very faintly recalled the skirmishes with Tsunade's old teammate Orochimaru.

"Huh. Small world after all." He chuckled, patting the grass around the freshly-picked wildflowers he'd placed there. "Anyway, what did you need?"

"Oh, right. My question." She licked her lips nervously. "Let's say hypothetically, you have to make a choice between two things. One would be to help your family by betraying a dear friend, and the other would be to betray your family for that closest friend. How would you go about choosing when all you'll end up doing is hurting the ones you love?"

He frowned, contemplating the question for a while.

Finally, he said, "Y'know, that's actually a really tough question. I mean, obviously my gut reaction would be to save my family, but then again, I wouldn't want to lose my best friend."

She nodded imploringly. "So what would you do, hypothetically?"

He hummed in thought. "Have you heard the story of how my parents died?"

"I've heard bits and pieces from Sasuke, only that they were killed at the Honsen Pass in a bridge explosion." She gave him a quizzical look.

"That's not the whole story." His face became stony when he recalled. "When I was eleven years old, my parents were chosen to supervise a squadron of soldiers going to meet an enemy's army at the village of Nagashuku. Word had been spread about this guy, Orochimaru, or as they know him now, the Snake, doing human experiments in the pursuit of immortality, and Sasuke's dad needed him stopped.

"To be honest, I really don't know why they were picked for the job." He let out a wry laugh. "Maybe they knew it was going to happen. Maybe Dad knew that they were walking into a trap. Whatever happened, they were ambushed on the old bridge in the pass.

"They fought for fifteen minutes before someone activated some hidden bombs on the bridge. Mom and Dad managed to shield some of the soldiers from the blow, but..." He began blinking back tears and his voice began to wobble as he spoke. "... by the time the dust cleared, almost everyone of that unit, plus Mom and Dad were dead. Hatake-san was one of the only survivors. The Snake's soldiers got away, and it was another month and a half before they finally destroyed his base, but he hasn't been found since."

"But... but Obito died in the explosion, didn't he?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Naruto nodded, ripping up a few blades of grass and watching as a sudden breeze blew all but one away. The one that had stuck to his hand he brushed off. "But Dad..."

His voice cracked. He sniffled and tried again. "Dad gave his life to try and save him and Mom. If- if they just hadn't taken the brunt of the explosion, then maybe I could have at least him here."

Tears began dribbling down his face and he angrily wiped one away. "But he didn't. He died to protect someone who ended up making his death useless. And now everything's so fucked up, and- and I'll never see them again."

He looked over at her, and his heartbroken expression, plus the dribbling liquid down his face, made her heart twist. "I want my parents back, Shien. You don't know all of the things I'd do to bring them back to me. They didn't deserve to die like that."

"Believe me, I... I get it." She nodded slowly, placing a comforting hand on his back. "I would give anything, even my own life, for the chance of being a normal citizen. To end this war. To... to find my family."

"I would do anything," Naruto repeated, staring heatedly at his parents' gravestones. "At least... at least I have someone who gets it. Sasuke definitely knows that it feels like."

"To give up your soul just to take back your loved ones?" She wondered softly.

"Some may argue that I was so fortunate to have them around even a year, but... but we weren't even that special." He sighed heavily. "It's not like we were living with demons, or malicious spirits, or anything. Sure, my dad was a mighty warrior, but... other than his and Mom's military skills, we were just a regular family."

She nodded again. "And... if given the chance, would you seek out the one who did kill them?"

"With all of my heart," he answered immediately, a fierce look in his cerulean eyes. "Not out of revenge, surprisingly, but... just so that I can finally, _finally_ quell my rage. It _hurts_, Shien. I don't want to hate anyone, but... I've kept this festering hatred inside me for nearly a decade. I can't eat nor sleep without thinking of the moment when I finally face off against their killer, what I'll say, what I'll do."

He chuckled morosely. "I've thought a lot about it. I've wanted to scream at them, to berate them until my breath gives out, and... then, perhaps I'd strike them down in one move, or cripple their limbs so that they can just lay there and listen to my speech. Sometimes I think about it and... and I shudder. When it comes to mind, it feels like someone else's voice instead of mine. It doesn't feel like _my_ wish, yet I know it has tempted me."

He sighed heavily once more, resting a gentle hand on his mother's gravestone. "But... I know in my heart that this isn't what Mom or Dad would've wanted. I know they would've wanted me to make peace and move on. It's just... it's just so hard sometimes, you know? Sometimes it feels like I'd be dishonoring their name by forgiving and forgetting.

"But then I remember what Mom always used to say." He fondly continued, stroking the stone with his knuckles. "'If there ever comes a time when you look at someone and you just wish they'd drop dead, it's better to channel that hatred into a fierce, passionate will to love than to let it fester and consume you from the inside.' I used to hate that so much, but now... now I understand."

She'd stayed quiet all this time, but now she felt she had to speak up. "Naruto, I may not have known you for long, but I can tell you are a truly compassionate, wonderful person."

He blushed, looking away in slight embarrassment.

"And I know that no matter what you do, Minato and Kushina would have been so, so proud of you." Her emotions began to choke her, and she had to blink back her tears as she smiled at him. "I know they're smiling down upon you right now, imploring you not to give up the fight. Fight, yes, but win by your compassion. Seldom few battles are truly won by fists alone."

"Dad used to say that," he reminisced. "A true warrior helps his enemy stand again, but a fool strikes during their darkest hour."

"Tales of the two of them have spread to even my home," she said fondly. "No child has gone without hearing of the legendary Yellow Flash and Konoha's Red-Spirited Kitsune."

Naruto's trembling lips began to form the shape of a tiny smile at the nicknames. It was true, the children they visited always loved hearing stories of Konoha's most famous heroes, and Minato and Kushina were some of their favorites.

She lowered her hand so that he could squeeze it, and as she gazed at him for a few seconds, she recognized the spirited, happy little boy in orange in his eyes. He hadn't faded away, even though the years hadn't been kind to either of them. In Naruto's youthful teenage face she saw the echoes of a time long forgotten, of smiles and laughter and innocent joy.

They stared into each other's faces for a few long moments, caught up in the mutual grief the other felt. He felt her emotions as keenly as if they were his own, the sorrow and guilt of a haunted past puzzling him for a fleeting heartbeat.

Just as quickly as the moment came, it was broken by the two of them looking away, Shien letting go of his hand. His lingering warmth felt almost akin to that of a sunbeam.

"Sorry, I... I kind of got off on a tangent there," he shakily laughed, rubbing his eyes. "Did that answer your question, at least?"

She looked down at the gravestones, gently running her finger across the names engraved there.

A softer smile graced her face, and she quietly replied, "... yes. I believe it has. Thank you, Naruto."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jiraiya was stationed near a unit of soldiers, Kakashi's squadron to be precise.

He had taken up the mission both for his own peace of mind ('cause hey, he'd much rather be looking after Minato's kids than be there at the wrong time to bear the news of their deaths), and both to get a better grip on his newfound guilt for his godson.

Sure, he'd been away from the land for a few years to ease up the guilt of both hearing the news of his pupil's death and failing to convince his best friend to give up his research, but ever since Sakura had gone to the palace it had stirred up old dredges that he thought he'd lain to rest an age ago.

Shaking it out of his thoughts, he listened in to two soldiers talking by the trees.

"Sucks that we actually have to go out and find guilty family members," the first griped. "I mean, everyone knows that once your kid or your grandkid or your sibling goes off to join the rebels, it means you're all marked for death yourselves. Nobody's gonna stick around to see what happens."

"I know what you mean," the second agreed. "At least we can't do much with the bigger clans, but those smaller families are the ones that get'cha. I mean, take a look at the Uzumakis. Ever since the king's best friend died, their family just about disappeared out of the history books. Either that, or they changed their names and went into hiding along the smaller villages."

"Yeah." The first sighed heavily around his bottle of water. "Almost a shame that the known ones won't know what hit 'em. I mean, you get the news that your kid died, and suddenly the king wants you dead too? Talk about adding insult to injury."

"Who'd you say the first marked were? Asaji or something?" The second asked, raising a fine black eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's one of 'em." The first nodded firmly. "We looked at Haruno, but, well, y'know, there's really not much evidence that their daughter defected."

Jiraiya let out a silent breath, relieved.

"Well, that, and they've got a young son," he continued with a shrug. "He's gonna want to be a soldier when he grows up, right? Waste of a young life, it is."

"Like our job is all sunshine and rainbows as it is," the second shot back. "Tens of hundreds of us die by the week to those Akatsuki freaks, and don't even get me started on disobeying the king's direct orders. You'd _wish_ you were dead by the time the White Lily was done with you."

"Ooh yeah, I've heard of her." The first snapped his fingers in recognition. "His chief executioner, the silent assassin that enters with the mist and leaves a trail of blood in her wake? As beautiful yet deadly as her namesake?"

"Enough with the poetic verse, _yes_, _her_." The second sighed harshly, rubbing his forehead. "Honestly, dude, maybe you should've been a poet instead of a soldier with all this mooning you do. If you weren't so eloquent I'da smacked you by now."

A chuckle, and Jiraiya found it the best time to slip away.

"What can I say?" The first one shrugged with a grin. "The ladies tend to think I'm quite the cunning linguist."

* * *

**A/N: A dirty pun, but I do love me some dirty jokes. I also changed Kushina's 'habanero' nickname to something that seemed a bit more in this universe's style. That, and I really think a nickname having to do with foxes would have suited her much, much better, but hey, that's just me.**

**We're getting closer and closer to a chapter that I've been dying to release for a long, long time! I hope you enjoy it when it finally drops.**

**Please tell me what you thought, and I'll see you all next week!**


	39. Chapter 38

**A/N: Shorter than last, but I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

_Chapter 38: Bloody Red Blooms, the Carnation's Longing_

* * *

"Naruto, I need your advice," Sasuke said the next morning as Shien left their room.

"About?" The boy yawned, buttoning up his tunic.

"About Shien," he replied, and when Naruto sighed, he turned around with a confused frown. "What?"

"I swear, you two have some kind of schedule or something," Naruto muttered before rolling his eyes and sitting down. "Look, Sasuke, before you say anything, I highly doubt she'd be too upset if you told her that you're getting married to someone else. She's very understanding and-"

"_What_? No!" Sasuke sputtered. "I'm not- this isn't- I'm not _marrying_ any girl!" He paused, then added, "Hopefully not yet! Father is supposed to tell me of his decision this week."

"Oh. Well, that's one question down." The blond shrugged. "Go for it. I'm stumped."

"I need... advice with being attracted to two women," Sasuke finally slumped in defeat, looking quite guilty.

Naruto looked surprised for a moment. "You have the hots for a living girl that's not Sakura?!"

"No! I'm still in love with Sakura!" Sasuke yelled. "It's just... I feel like it's unfair to Shien if I keep measuring them against each other. I mean, Sakura is my first love, and Shien is... well, Shien is _interesting_, but-"

"I get it, you feel like you're betraying her by loving someone who's not... y'know, her. And not dead, I guess." Naruto nodded. "I get it, man. I really do."

"How could you possibly understand how I feel?" Sasuke demanded. "The only girl I've ever loved romantically died before I could even tell her how I felt, and every girl I've ever loved like family has either died or ran away!"

Naruto looked up at him with a frown on his face. "I know how it feels to let the person you love most go. I know how it feels to move on."

"You loved someone?" Sasuke trailed off in surprise. "But... but who?"

"I never wanted to marry her, but... I cared about Hinata." Naruto confessed, messing around with the bottom button on his tunic. "We got really close after Sakura passed. I may not have crushed on her, but I knew how she felt - and it made me feel so awful. When she told me she was betrothed to you, I knew there was nothing I could do but comfort her."

Before Sasuke could speak, Naruto continued. "But with Sakura... I _loved_ her. She was everything to me. I knew how she felt about you, of course, but... but I just kept hoping that one day she would realize that she loved me and would marry _me_." He scoffed, chuckling. "Guess we know how that turned out."

"I spent so many years of my life knowing that she would never see me as more than a friend, a brother, and I guess that's what made it easier to deal with Hinata. It was the same situation, just reversed." He halfheartedly grinned, looking away with a shake of his head. "It taught me a great deal about patience, and I lost my bitterness at you two. Part of it was realizing that it wasn't her fault for feeling this way, that when you love, _you love _\- and the other was Karin. She gave me a good wake-up call."

"I'm... I'm sorry," Sasuke breathed in disbelief, resting a hand on his shoulder as he sagged to the bed. "I never knew."

"You're a prince, what else could you do?" Naruto asked with a laugh. "But seriously, Sasuke, it's fine. I could never, ever hate you. You're my brother."

"You're my brother," Sasuke replied, giving him a genuine smile. "Still... I am sorry. For Hinata."

"What are you apologizing for?" The blond chastised, elbowing him in the side. "I was never worried about Hinata being your wife. If anything, I trusted her life with _you_ more than anyone else in this world. This isn't your fault."

"But... but what about Shien?" Sasuke asked. "What can I do?"

"_For Kami-sama's sake_, Sasuke, you already know what you have to do." Naruto groaned, rolling his eyes. "Geez, and people say _I'm_ the dense one. Look, don't do what I did, okay? If you truly love her, then you need to go to her. Tell her. I've seen the way she looks at you. Believe me, she's probably going to accept your feelings. Then you can just walk right up to your dad and tell him you aren't gonna be marrying anyone else but her."

"I'm just... I'm worried that either Mother or Father will get their hearts set on someone and get rid of her." The prince confessed, clenching his fists. "I can't lose another reminder of what I could've had. Not now. Not yet."

"Like I said before, when you love, you love. Sometimes, there's just no rhyme or reason to it. Love is hardly wrong unless you go off the deep end with it." The pointed look he was giving made Sasuke bow his head in shame. "Take it easy for a while, Sasuke. All we have to do is lay off the rebels until your coronation, and then you can do whatever you want. At least the king promised to stay and guide you for your first six months as ruler."

"Yeah, what luck," the Uchiha scoffed. "At least the uneasiness about my marriage situation will be over soon. For our sakes, I hope he never intends to marry me off at all."

* * *

"Tsunade," Noh began as she entered the tent, catching the attention of both Tsunade and Hinata, looking to be in the middle of a discussion. She held up a note. "Another note from the palace. We need to set a date, and soon. If the king intends to coronate Prince Sasuke on his birthday, we need to act."

"Yes, yes, I already know that." Tsunade nodded, pacing about the space. "We'll need to attack early. Security will be brimming for the few days before and during the ceremony, so perhaps we should go earlier. There has to be a sweet spot window."

"If I may," Hinata piped up from where she was seated. "I recall that in the week before the wedding, perhaps the twenty-eighth or so I noticed little security around. When I asked around, the answer I got was that they were off doing little errands."

"Three to four days before the ceremony, then?" Noh pondered. "That might work. Plus, if all goes worse than planned, we can just call in backup. We won't have to rush."

"Perfect. We'll have to attack on the twentieth, then." Tsunade nodded firmly, grinning over at Noh. "Let Kakashi know."

"At once, my lady," The brunette bowed and hurried off.

Hinata fidgeted nervously, watching as Tsunade sat back down. "Are you certain that gives us enough time to train up and assemble a formidable army?"

"No worries when we've got Konoha elite on our side." Tsunade smiled proudly. "Without Hatake and Gai, I don't know where we'd get the extra boost. They're both very influential among their ranks, I've seen. The Akatsuki are on standby, just awaiting orders. Plus, if we need backup, we've got the group in Morino. So far, we've got all of our ducks in a row."

"And..." Hinata pressed, "... you're sure we can succeed?"

"With Sakura as our mole, without a doubt." Her chest puffed out in pride. "She knows the mission better than anyone else would. She's got the skills. She will not fail me."

* * *

Noh delivered the message to Kakashi, who was overseeing a small group of defected soldiers. "Iris-sama has set the invasion date for the twentieth."

"Ah, three days before the coronation?" His visible eye crinkled, as if he were smiling. "A bit of a crunch, but I think we can do it. Isn't that right, men?"

"Sir yes sir!" His squad cried, saluting both of them.

Noh frowned as she looked around. "Where's Gai?"

"He's back at base, filling in for me," Kakashi replied. "We've been taking turns going back to serve."

She smiled softly up at him, leaning against his arm. "It must be so good to have such a good friend with you like this. I'm glad you defected, Kakashi."

He looked over at her, debating on whether he should say something. _"Should I confess my true feelings?"_

When her bright, brown eyes locked on his black one, he shook it off, instead replying, "You know I would never betray you. Whether at war or at peace, I will always be at your side."

Her heart skipped a beat when he brushed a lock of hair out of her face. She looked away until she realized one of the older recruits was running up with a message.

"Cypress-sama, a message from the faction at Morino." The recruit spoke clearly, her green eyes sharp. "They are in need of more food and medical supplies. Should we arrange for them to join us here soon?"

Noh bit her bottom lip in thought for a few moments. At last, she answered, "No, send a group with the needed supplies. We need them as backup in case something goes wrong."

"Of course, ma'am." The soldier saluted her and nodded firmly to Kakashi. "Keep up the good work here, Hatake."

"Hai hai, Beru-san." He rose his hand to her.

* * *

**A/N: Alas, poor Kakashi. He can never really tell Rin what's goin' on.**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	40. Chapter 39

**A/N: Shorter than usual, but I hope you enjoy this little moment with the Uchiha fam, as much of a downer as it is.**

* * *

_Chapter 39: Flower Soft as Silk, Petals Sharp as Blades_

* * *

"Fugaku, don't you get it?!" Mikoto's voice, angry and loud, echoed through their room. "I will not just stand by and allow my husband to be used by that- that _disgrace_!"

"Do not speak of him in such a manner! What if he decides that you are of no use to him anymore?" Fugaku shouted right back, practically nose-to-nose with his wife.

She didn't back down from the intimidation tactic, instead standing her ground and seething right back at him. "I can handle myself, Fugaku. I was raised as a warrior! _All_ of us were, as Uchiha! I fought alongside you in the war, remember?"

"I haven't forgotten that. Your service was truly exemplary!" He argued. "But this situation is so much different! Have you forgotten that we are all expendable to him? At any moment he could order that I get rid of someone else!"

"He would not dare," she growled. "He knows that I am far too important to kill. He will spare me."

"If not you, then whom?" Fugaku bellowed, throwing his hands in the air as he stalked around the room like a lion in a corner. "He could tell me to get rid of Sasuke! He could tell me to test him like he did with Itachi! He could demand I allow Naruto to be done away with just to see Sasuke take up our curse of hatred! Kami-sama forbid he tell me I need to get rid of the Hayashi girl, lest we all be in for a _nightmare_!"

"He knows full too well that he cannot push us too far, and that's the ticket," she tried to reason. "He knows that if he told you to get rid of any one of us, be it Naruto, or Sasuke, or even Hayashi-san, then his plan would be ruined! He needs us alive! His only trump card is burning Morino to the ground a second time!"

"Do not speak of that tragedy," Fugaku hissed. "I was forced to do it once. I will not do it again."

"And why ever not?" She challenged, stalking closer. "Lest you forget, Morino was needed to flush out the rebels! They've been far too quiet for far too long. It's only natural that he's going to see this and order you to flush the rest of them out of hiding!"

"I will not do it, then!" The king cried. "We've already killed more than half of the townspeople, I will not do it!"

"If you do not do it, he will kill you," she breathed slowly and deliberately into his ear. "You will die."

"Then I choose death," Fugaku murmured, clenching his fist. "If my punishment for taking back control of my kingdom is to die a traitor, then so be it. I would rather perish than see him burn our legacy to ash."

With that said, he pushed away a stunned Mikoto and stormed out of the room, the tears burning his eyes.

Mikoto watched him silently, her own eyes wide. Then, slowly, she grit her teeth together, eyes narrowing in determination.

"If you do not do this," she repeated quietly to herself, "then you will die."

She blinked rapidly as her concealed emotions finally made themselves known as tears, and she had to turn away so that she could sink to the ground and weep.

_"Where did we go so wrong?" _She mourned to herself, hiding her face in her hands. _"Why are we forced to follow this tyrant?"_

The image of Itachi, her gentle eldest son, flashed by her mind's eye quickly, and she bitterly sobbed when she remembered how he'd been treated.

_"Itachi, I always thought you would one day be the one to take over the throne," _she thought, recalling how much he loved sitting in on Fugaku listening to the problems of their people. He always had an idea of how to help them, and genuinely listened to each word they spoke as if they were made of gold. _"You always made me so proud."_

She touched her neck, fondly recalling the day she'd given him the Uchiha family necklace. It had been an engagement present from Fugaku to her, as was tradition for their family. She had given it to him the night before he turned against them, hoping that it would steer him back to their side. Unfortunately, it seemed that destiny didn't wish it to be so, as he proceeded to murder one of Fugaku's chief advisors and flee into the night after knocking Sasuke unconscious.

She remembered the pain in his eyes when she gave it to him. He had politely rejected the jewelry with an air of desperation, his eyes screaming _"Please don't do this, please don't make this harder than it has to be." _She had hoped with all of her heart that she'd gotten through to him, that she'd managed to get him to remember how happy their little family could be... but fate had other plans anyway. In a night, their family was shattered beyond repair, and she was left to try and pick up the pieces as her husband distracted himself with _him_ and her son retreated into himself in his grief over losing his beloved brother.

She cried and cried and cried, wrapping her arms about herself as if they were Fugaku's, her head hung low in guilt and shame.

"I'm... I'm a horrible mother," she wept, clenching her eyes shut. "I could not even save Itachi... how can I hope to save Sasuke?"

After a few more moments of sobbing, an idea came to her. One that stilled her cries, making her look up to the tapestry on the wall. It had been made by Fugaku's mother (long since deceased), given to her the day before their wedding.

The scene depicted was one of a mother defending her young child from a large wolf, the sword in her hand held to the beast's belly, drawing blood. Though her stitched coal eyes saw nothing, Mikoto imagined a passionate rage burning within them. Something that spoke to her.

Her eyes narrowed as she rose up_. "Forgive me, Fugaku, but I know what I must do."_

Eyes as dark as the night held a bitter fire as Mikoto tied her hair up and clasped a cape about her neck, flinging up her hood to cover her face.

Fugaku was most likely training his katon in their little gymnasium to calm down, so she knew he wouldn't discover her until someone brought forth evidence.

Still, she felt a little hesitant to leave the palace without telling him. She knew he had an issue with her leaving without him knowing of it. Still, as she gazed out of their bedroom window she knew it had to be done.

Inside her wardrobe, behind her dresses and skirts, sat a katana, long since relegated to being an antique, with a smooth leather handle decorated with jade at the tip. On the sheath was etched a flower - a lily. One of the only remnants left of her war-torn, bloody past - and yet somehow it felt right to take this instrument in her hands again.

"If you want something done to your standards," her voice was low, with a dangerous edge as she secured the sword that hung at her side, "then you must roll up your sleeves and finish it yourself."

She sent one last glance at the painting of herself and Fugaku, hand-in-hand, in the royal robes they'd donned on his coronation day so many years ago, and steeled her facade. Still, a tear slid down her face, obscured by the hood as she left the room in a hurry.

_"It is my duty as queen and as a mother to protect my family from evil."_

* * *

Jiraiya stirred from his light nap, an alarming sense of danger overwhelming his being.

_"Something is wrong,"_ he thought, looking around. It settled in his stomach like nausea, and it was strong enough to send him into camp.

He sought out Tsunade's tent and found her brushing out her hair on her bed.

"Jiraiya!" She exclaimed upon seeing him. "What is it? Did something happen?"

"No, but I fear something's about to happen," he deadpanned. "Send a messenger to the faction at Morino. They need to leave no later than tomorrow night."

"But- but they're still helping rebuild," she protested as she hopped to her feet. "And I just sent out a team with supplies this morning! Are you certain?"

His serious frown immediately quieted her. "I would not joke about this, Tsunade."

She nodded, worried. "I'll send out a messenger at once, although it will take until tomorrow morning to get there."

* * *

**A/N: Guess who's still on the angst train for Fugaku and Mikoto? Am I ever gonna give these cuties a break? Probably not! Am I gonna unleash angst hell on them before this fic is over? _Absolutely_!**

**I'm so pumped for the next two chapters, you guys. I've been wanting to post them for ages because of a certain cutie that was mentioned back before the Palace arc started. Plus, a little fanart piece from a fan!**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	41. Chapter 40

**A/N: Heyo, a flashback episode! It's gonna be lengthy, but h****ere's some of what was happening back in Morino during the time between Tsunade leaving! Enjoy this early upload, because I'm just giddy about releasing it!**

* * *

_Chapter 40: The Dreams of a Boy_

* * *

_-June 14-_

It was a beautiful summer morning as Karin walked over to the fire. Since the retreat two nights ago, it had been hard to get back to sleep, but thankfully she'd awoken restful and energetic.

Hideki, one of the early-bird workers that was supposed to help with building new houses, smiled over at her as she approached, his gray eyes bright and alert. "Good morning, Uzumaki-sama. Did you sleep well?"

"I did, thank you." She gave him a polite nod and grabbed the teapot from its spot above the fire, pouring herself some hot tea. "And you?"

"Just as well as always," he replied. "Y'know, I'm really glad you stayed behind."

"Oh?" She asked before taking a sip of tea. "Care to elaborate?"

"Well, it's just," his cheeks, dotted with freckles, turned a softer pink as he rubbed the back of his neck, "you've always been a superior, and I've never gotten to know you that well. I guess I'm glad I can finally get to know you as a comrade."

She paused, mulling it over. After a few moments, she gave him a genuine smile, offering her hand. "I suppose it is good luck then. I look forward to working with you, uh..."

"Hideki Sato," he recited with a warm grin. "It's a pleasure to work with you, Uzumaki-sama."

He reminded her so thoroughly of her cousin, of those trusting eyes and that sunny disposition, that it made her heart twist in pain. Regardless, she took his hand and shook it firmly.

* * *

_-June 18-_

A few days passed, each morning with Hideki greeting her by the fire, each afternoon with the boy passing her a lunch and a grateful, shy smile.

He grew on her quickly, reminding her so much of the cousin she'd left behind. His youthful optimism was a refreshing break from the glum pessimistic attitude of most of the villagers and the others, and, Karin hated to admit, of herself.

Every time she griped about their situation, he always had something positive to say about it. At first, it was endlessly annoying. Karin found herself wondering just how anyone could find a positive attitude in the wake of having their entire operation nearly foiled.

One morning, she was fed up with his sunshine disposition and finally snapped, "How is it that you can be so cheerful every single day, even when most of our comrades had to flee early?"

He was nonplussed at this (since he got this exact question fifteen times a day anyways) and gave his usual answer of "Life was meant for singing praise in the rain, not complaining in the sun."

In retaliation, both from stress and an underlying want to hurt his bright attitude (one that she would regret later), she retorted, "Then how can you be so damn joyful when you've dead parents and nobody alive who loves you?"

As she suspected, she regretted her words almost immediately when Hideki physically flinched back, stunned and hurt at the question. It was no secret to the others that he spent most of his nights sitting alone after nightmares, and even rarer, crying himself to sleep in his sleeping bag, and the boy generally just wore his heart on his sleeve. You could see every emotion that flickered through his eyes, and his face further expressed it. Karin, more unfortunately, had a certain ability that caused her to be able to feel peoples' chakra signatures. While ones such as Itachi's felt like a stormy day and crows, Hideki's felt more akin to Temari's - more of a warm spring breeze than a flowering desert cactus, actually. She could practically smell the lilacs that radiated from the very center of his being. All the more guilt that welled up in her chest.

He wore an expression of pained bewilderment, even as he stuttered through his answer: "Um, well I- I just..."

Karin sighed. _"Way to go, Karin. You're gonna make your youngest partner cry."_

She went over and rested a hand on his shoulder, muttering, "Sato, I- I'm sorry. That was out of line and highly unprofessional."

"No, that's-" he let out a shuddery breath, blinking rapidly, "-that's okay, I just... I'm just trying to see the good, y'know?"

She nodded wordlessly, moving him so that he sat down on one of the logs around the fire. He wiped at his eyes, trying to get rid of the developing moisture.

She winced when she felt his chakra shift, feeling the pain leap out at her. She was somewhat used to feeling the internal pain of others, but Hideki's was... very much unexpected. Only when one had experienced significant emotional injury did she feel this.

His back trembled a little, but as she ran her hand over it he began to calm a little.

"Ever since Dad died," he began, staring straight ahead into the firepit, "Mom was... inconsolable. A lot of me thinks she blamed herself, but it- it wasn't her fault."

His voice cracked, "A- and part of me feels like I should've done something. If I'd done something to prevent his death, then maybe we could have been happy. Maybe I'd still-"

"It's okay, I know..." Karin bit her lower lip for a second. "... I'm sorry."

He rose his hand to his necklace, a mirthless smile spreading on his face. "Mom's only want was to see us happy. She told me more than once she just couldn't wait for the day I came home with a girl that I loved."

His fingers clenched around the emerald. "... guess it's too late for that, huh?"

A single tear slipped down his cheek, and he wiped it away before it could dribble down his chin. "I couldn't even save my own mother from suicide. I'm no son."

"You are a good person, Sato," Karin consoled. "You're so young. For someone your age, I'd have expected you to be more bitter about it."

Slowly, he shifted his wide-eyed, watery gaze to look at her, gray meeting red.

"But you know what? You bounced back." She squeezed his shoulder encouragingly. "You've become all she would have wanted and more. I don't really know where your family's loyalty was, but... if she could see you now, caring for people, helping people - I do know she would have been so proud."

He smiled, blinking away his tears. "Mom always said that the world can't be saved by one man alone."

"And she was right." Karin mirrored his expression and got up, extending her hand. "I'm really sorry I was so insensitive. I... I guess I'm just not used to someone being so positive even though we're being hunted down."

"No, no, you're right." He shook his head as she helped him to his feet. "I guess the artificial cheerfulness was a bit more harmful than it was helpful. I guess it's just... habit. Dad always faked being happy even when he got sick. I just don't know what else to do when the world is crumbling around me."

"Others have noticed that you've awoken from nightmares and sit alone," she said. "If you find yourself unable to sleep, then come to either myself or Mato-sensei. He may look like a grizzly bear, but he's just really soft, especially for younger recruits."

"I've met him before." Hideki nodded in agreement, wiping away his excess tears. "He was, ah, the one who tried making me go into medical on my first day."

"He'll do that for newer recruits," Karin chuckled, patting his back. "For anyone under eighteen, he'll try to steer them to medical. Hardly any of the adults want mere teenagers fighting as soldiers, but that's life, I suppose."

"Yeah." Hideki shook his head with a more cheerful smile. "I can't honestly see myself fighting... I'd probably freak out and try to heal the enemy soldier!"

The two of them shared a laugh at that image of a concerned Konoha nin getting healed by a worried Hideki.

"Well, it's about time to get going." Karin said, turning to leave. "It was a good chat with you, Sato."

"Oh, uh, Karin-san?" He called, making her pause. When she looked questioningly at him, he asked, "Say, what's your favorite flower around here?"

"Eh?" She blinked. "Why would you need to know that?"

His face flushed pink and he poked his fingers together. "W- well, since we're going to be in this camp for a while, I- I guess I'd figure out what you liked! F- for instance, I like daffodils."

"Hm." She actually had to think about this one. "I... guess I haven't thought about it that much. Ino's usually the one who flips about flowers here. Uh, I guess... chrysanthemums?"

He nodded. "Chrysanthemums. Got it."

* * *

_-June 19-_

The next day, she went to the firepit for her morning tea to find him standing there, holding a couple of red chrysanthemums shyly out to her.

"You said you liked them, so I picked a few," he mumbled as he pressed them into her hands.

She smiled, patting his head. "Thank you, they're nice."

He held his sunny face and seemed quite proud of the gift, chattering on about what they would do that day while she poured herself some tea.

If she noticed the bandages around his fingers from where he'd helped the old woman with her berries for the flowers, she never spoke up.

* * *

_-June 20-_

The very next day was Karin's 21st birthday, and she spent it rather poorly by birthday standards: she accidentally slipped on some muddy ground from the rain and fell right onto a couple of nails someone had carelessly left out.

Hideki, who was working on putting up a new building with her, immediately jumped to her aid, lifting her with ease (despite his seemingly-frail frame) and hauling her over to the medical hut.

He stayed with her as she got it inspected and treated. Thankfully, she was told she wouldn't have to worry much about tetanus, and she could go back to work with the instructions to be careful.

Karin thanked him once they were out, and as he helped her walk back to the unfinished home he simply grinned at her.

When he remembered that it was her birthday, he managed to scrape together enough ingredients to cook some okonomiyaki, her favorite dish. He presented it to as she was resting, and after she, stunned, thanked him for the gift, she shared the treat with him.

She was touched by his kind gesture, and when she told some of her coworkers later, her coworkers nudged her about her growing attachment to the boy.

* * *

_-July 4-_

A couple of weeks had passed, all in the same vein of interaction: Karin met him every morning by the firepit, sometimes with one of her subordinates in tow, but most times alone, they talked as she had her morning drink, and then they went their separate ways. Usually, Karin went to assist the medics and Hideki went to help construct the homes, but sometimes their roles were reversed, or they worked together.

Bit by bit, the boy grew on her. He had lost some of his initial artificial cheeriness and instead seemed much more real now, although he still wore his heart on his sleeve. He seemed to befriend just about everyone he came into contact with, even older, stricter types like Utori-sensei, one of the chief medics.

All of the medical staff, male and female alike, often cooed at him when he came in to work, especially when Karin was on duty, much to her annoyance. Soon enough, she just didn't care about it anymore, giving them a look before doing her duties.

But Hideki had a certain way with her. The painful similarities between him and Naruto faded, naturally, leaving behind a new face, one becoming more and more mature the longer they spent in Morino. He was slowly becoming a man, one that Mato-sensei was becoming proud of. (He'd started going to the older man when Karin suggested it, and the two had quickly formed a father-son relationship. It was... weirdly wholesome to see the hulking 6'7" muscled man bring Hideki some lunch wrapped in a little pale-yellow bento box in the early afternoon, especially with his forever-frowning face.)

As the days wore on, she found herself becoming attracted to his spring-breeze chakra and his kind, gentle soul. Before she knew it, she had fallen in love with the teenager. She often had doubts about ever pursuing a romantic relationship with him (mostly because of the five, six-year age difference), but his birthday was coming up, and she reconciled with the fact that she could simply wait until he turned sixteen. Hell, most teenagers began dating when they were sixteen during peace; what was dating during a war? It was legal for everything except drinking (that was eighteen), and besides, hadn't the king and queen married when she turned sixteen? It was war then, it was war now.

* * *

_-July 8-_

Little did she know, the older staff members had been planning for quite a while now.

As soon as Hideki had bashfully confided in Mato that he had a tiny little crush on Karin, a few of the adults had gotten word and they had planned out a little something to push them further together. Others complained that he was merely a naive boy, and that their insistence on getting the two together was weird.

At Mato's order, they gave both Karin and Hideki a day off to spend together. Mato offered to be a chaperone for a walk in the forest, to a secret little pond that only a few of the older staff knew of. He knew it would be empty that day.

As the afternoon drew to a close, he went to Karin and Hideki (who had taken up logs around the firepit, just chatting together) and told them to follow him. Confusedly, they did so, and as they walked through the forest he told them about the pond.

They got there just as the sun was setting and as the fireflies were coming out.

Hideki had awed at the beautiful atmosphere, and Karin had watched, fascinated, as one of the fireflies landed on the tip of her finger before flying away.

The strawberry-blond boy coughed into his fist, eyes downcast in a bashful smile. When he got her attention, he looked up, holding out his hand. "Friend to friend? I have a confession to make, Uzumaki-sama."

"You don't have to be so formal, I'm not going to kill you." She amusedly gripped it and sat down with him on some rocks near the pond. "What's up?"

"Well, um, you know my deepest dreams." He mumbled. "Ever since I was a boy, I've dreamed of having a family of my own. The two things I've wanted most are a wife and children to love."

"Yes, go on." She encouraged, seeing him hesitate by biting his lower lip and look away in something that almost seemed like shame.

"When my father died, and my mother followed him, I thought my dreams turned to dust. I thought that I would never find anyone to love again, much less for them to love me."

"Do you need love advice?" She asked, blinking curiously. "Is this about a girl in camp? I'm not the type of person who's a genius in love, so I don't know how much help I could be-"

"It's you, actually," he interjected awkwardly, letting his bangs shift into his face as he looked down. "I kind of... like you."

"When we say 'kind of', do you mean... as good friends, or as family... or...?" She asked, raising her eyebrows imploringly.

"I, um, I've had a crush on you for a week," he blurted out, his cheeks blossoming in hues of petal pink. "I've been really scared that you'd avoid me, so I wanted to wait, but like I get it if you don't feel that way, I just had to get it out-"

"Hideki, relax." She soothed, placing a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up, she smiled kindly. "I've thought about it too."

"You- you have?" He perked up a little, eyes widening in uncertainty. "Really? With me?"

"Yes, really, with you," she confirmed. "The thing is, you're fifteen and I'm... well, I just turned twenty-one. The age difference would definitely raise eyebrows."

He shrunk back at that, nodding glumly. "I- I mean, I'm younger, but that doesn't mean that it's illegal-"

"All I ask is that you ask me when you turn sixteen," she interrupted, not unkindly. She smiled when he began to cheer up. "For now, we can keep it in our thoughts."

"Oh thank you, U- Karin-san," his eyes were full of tears and he leapt forward to embrace her, hiding his face in her shoulder. "Thank you. You won't regret this, thank you."

* * *

_-July 11-_

The afternoon had ended peacefully, with the children helping with new homes and the older adults helping to mend and make new clothes.

Karin stood by the fire, gazing proudly at all they'd accomplished.

As it was Hideki's 16th birthday, the staff had pulled out all the stops to make him a little cake out of some of the foodstuffs, and they presented it to him at lunchtime.

He cried.

But thankfully, they were happy tears. He thanked everyone and shared his cake with them, even offering a choice slice to Karin. She accepted, of course, because how long had it been since anyone had had cake? Karin certainly couldn't remember the last time she'd had a proper cake, birthday or not.

Once the cake had been eaten, it was back to work. Karin went back to the task of stitching up a patient's back (horrid swipe from a bear), and Hideki helped cook dinner that night.

After dinner had been eaten, Hideki took her aside (back to the pond, actually) to speak with her in private.

Did Mato eavesdrop? Well, if you asked him, he'd vehemently deny that - he was merely 'chaperoning' in case of any Konoha soldiers... and to make sure that nothing inappropriate happened, not that he had any concerns about the two.

Hideki and Karin stopped in front of the same pond, gazing into the water.

Finally, he broke the silence and caught her eye.

"Karin, I'm sixteen now," he said with a smile, kneeling down beside the water. "Would you consider dating me?"

"Now where would you get that idea?" She teased.

When he pouted, she laughed good-naturedly.

"I'm kidding, kidding," she grinned. "Of course. I'd love to take part in your dream with you."

His eyes watered again, but he sniffled and wiped them away. "I promised myself that I- that I wouldn't start crying like a baby," he laughed shakily. "It's just- whenever I think of what Mother or Father would have said, what they would have looked like seeing me finally bring my loved one home..."

"They're already so proud of you, I promise." She clasped his shoulder and helped him stand. She hugged him tight, smiling to herself as his strawberry stub of a ponytail tickled her face. "Don't ever doubt how much they loved you - how they're smiling at you now, Hideki."

When she let go of him, his cheeks were flushed pink again, his freckles popping out against the color, much like the speckled, ripe apples that Karin and her mother used to eat back in Konoha.

"You've made me so happy, I can't properly put words to it," he murmured, his eyes wide and bright.

"Well, you're not the only one who's wanted a family," she admitted. "Ever since I got separated from my mom, I've craved having a support system. I've found a lot of it in Tsunade and the other medics, but..."

"I promise, I'll be all you want and more," he implored with a breathless smile. The tears still pricked his eyes, but he didn't bother wiping them away as he beheld Karin's kind scarlet eyes. "I won't disappoint you. I'll be the perfect boyfriend."

In that moment, everything felt perfect.

But unfortunately, night still had yet to fall.

* * *

**A/N: Cliffhanger, sorry! But Hideki is a Cutie****, so it's okay :3**

**Anyways! I have an art push (no, not my art)! Nightronic (on )/BokuNoFukui (on dA) has graciously drawn out what Hideki would look like, among different little scenes from Riot Act! When this chapter goes up, she should be finishing an illustration of Hideki for me, so I encourage you to go check her out.**


	42. Chapter 41

**A/N: This chapter is going to be a bit of a downer (mkay scratch that, a_ total_ downer), but I hope you enjoy regardless.**

**_Content Warning: There is gore and character death in this chapter._ It doesn't go into horrifically graphic detail, but there will be a lot of blood. You can skip to the end (where Tsunade/Jiraiya's scene begins) if you don't want to read that. I apologize in advance for my squeamish readers!**

* * *

_Chapter 41: The White Lily's Rage_

* * *

A fleeting kiss remained on her skin as Karin swayed to herself, giddy in love for the first time in ages. It hadn't been since her short-lived crush on another man, one by the name of Yuudai, that she'd felt any sort of attraction. Even her one-sided crush on Sasuke hadn't been this intense, and she'd been thirsty for the prince when she was seventeen!

Hideki was young, true, but he was endearing. He went out of his way to make her happy, from giving her picked flowers from around the village to making her little onigiri snacks for lunch. He was genuinely trying to be a good boyfriend, and it touched her. Even though he could be a little overbearing at certain times (particularly when it came to her various little injuries here and there), she learned to push away the irritation and recognized that he was trying. His fledgling medical abilities certainly helped, she had to give him that much.

This morning he had greeted her with a shy peck on the cheek, before frantically apologizing for the surprise. She had simply given him a small peck on his forehead, and he walked off in a daze with a dopey grin. Apparently, that had energized him, since Mato reported that he had put up two whole frames in a single day, when he usually only managed in one and a half.

The evening had come, and he had stumbled over to the fire, bruised and dirty, but happy. She offered him some tea and some food, and he sat with her eating his portion as they talked. Well, more like she spoke and he chewed, but he offered some thoughts of his own every few swallows.

Once he was done, they walked over to the makeshift cooking area and washed the dishes, and they left to their own places after sharing another kiss, an innocent brush of lips against her hand. Though she was cautious about moving too quickly, she had to admit it was awfully sweet seeing him get so flustered after romantic contact. Just a hug would make his freckled cheeks bloom with red roses. It had been a long time since a boy, much less a burgeoning young man, had been so easy to be around. (Neither Naruto nor the prince counted, she was quick to remind herself. He was family, and so was Sasuke.)

She happily sighed as she went over to her cot, the young lady beside her smiling knowingly.

"Aika, you ever been in love?" She asked, lying back on her bedroll.

The noirette nodded mutely, patting her knee with affection.

"Oh, right, sorry." Karin chuckled, throwing her an apologetic grin. "I forgot."

Aika merely shrugged. It was fine, she was used to it. People often forgot the horrific servitude she was subjected to, and she had the scars on her neck to prove it. If it didn't mean that they treated her any differently because of her experiences, she could live with it.

"But that aside, what was he like? Was he cute?" Karin asked, rolling over to look up at her imploringly.

Aika thought about it for a second. Her last lover, a young man named Daiya, was almost four years her senior, rugged, with chestnut brown hair and soft mahogany eyes. Slowly, she nodded.

"Was he..." Karin bit her lip, "... y'know, young?"

Aika shook her head. She reached out for Karin's hand and traced a number into her palm. Nineteen.

"Nineteen isn't that bad..." She trailed off when Aika traced another number into her palm. Fifteen.

"You were fifteen when you were with him?" Her jaw dropped. "And _nobody_ said anything?"

Aika shrugged with an uncertain smile. She reached out for a tablet and marker, and she wrote out her answer. (_"My father objected of course, but my mother relented and betrothed us just a few weeks before my sixteenth birthday upon seeing just how smitten we both were."_)

"And you were cool with it?" Karin asked.

Raising an eyebrow, Aika smirked. (_"I did say I was young and in love, didn't I?"_)

"Right, right, of course, sorry," the redhead coughed. "What happened to him?"

At this, Aika frowned. She scrubbed her words away and tried to find a way to phrase it. A few times, she began writing something, but then she'd viciously scrub it clear mere seconds later.

Finally, after several attempts, she wrote out something and showed Karin. (_"Unfortunately, on my sixteenth birthday, Daiya was taken and executed. His family harbored rebels from another faction. I was taken to be a handmaiden to the queen shortly afterward, in hopes that my family could quietly recover from their shame."_)

"Oh, I'm... so sorry." The woman looked down with a frown.

Aika tapped her shoulder and showed her the tablet, smiling sympathetically. (_"I've forgiven and forgotten long ago. After all, he was only my first love. I was young and inexperienced, so admittedly, it would've been a power imbalance between_ us.") She paused, then with a hasty scribble and a solemn look for a moment,_ ("Had I married him, I would've been executed too, no doubt. Besides, I'm only twenty-two. I can fall in love again, much like you have."_)

"Well, Hideki is..." Karin stumbled over her words for a few seconds. "Hideki is so- so _young_. Just barely emerging into adulthood in the eyes of the law. I'm worried about what this life will shape him to be. I know I'm a bit of a hypocrite, technically soft-dating a _sixteen-year-old_ at twenty-one, but... I do care for him."

Aika nodded, kindly shaking her head. (_"I completely understand. You shouldn't worry so much. You should take it slow for the next length of time, and let him make the decision to go or stay as he matures. You seem to be, after all, his first love. I can confidently say that no one is as judicious with their first as they are with their second, third, fourth, and so on. But though he is young now, he is quite spirited. I'm certain that he will keep his kind heart to his last breath, come what may."_)

"I just hope you're right," Karin sighed heavily, lying back on her pillow. "I'd hate to see him go the way that so many of our comrades have. It just isn't fair."

* * *

As the moon rose above the camp, its dim light shone ominously in the darkening sky. Shadows crept close to the camp, clinging to the walls and trees.

Hideki shivered, rubbing his arms. Something felt off, but he couldn't place it. When he'd gone to relieve the night watchman from his duties, he'd been nowhere to be found, strangely enough. Hideki had taken his spot with trepidation, and the paranoia hadn't worn off even an hour into his shift.

When Karin emerged from the women's building, he ran to her, abandoning his post, clasping her hands in his in a sudden boldness.

"Karin, I feel like something bad is going to happen," he explained, looking around in concern. "Please promise me you'll sleep with your guard up tonight."

"What's going on with you?" She asked, squeezing his hands. "Do we need to tell Mato?"

"Yes, please, we need to tell everyone." He nodded rapidly. "The night watchman was gone when I arrived- I don't know why, but I feel like we're going to be attacked. Please, please tell Mato."

"If you say so," she nodded, her jovial mood dissipating at the wary look on his face.

He was about to say something else, but then his eyes widened as he looked past her. "Look out-!"

"Wha-" She could hardly react in time before she was falling to the ground beside him.

He shoved her out of the way, leaving his front wide open. When she tumbled to the ground she heard a dull thwack and a shaky gasp, and when she looked up she realized, horrified, that Hideki had a kunai impaled through his throat. He let out a gurgled moan before falling to the ground. His skull connected with a sickening crack on the stones, and the knife was shoved a little further in, making him cry out, gripping his throat.

"SATO!" She screamed, attracting the attention of others. Several civilian women rushed over and a few realized what was happening.

"We're under attack!" A man cried as more kunai began slicing through the air. It severed the poor victim's neck and sent him sprawling to the ground, his head rolling along the dirt hanging from a fraction of his neck. His blood began to spray across the cobblestones of the road as his body fell, painting the road a gory warning.

There was a stunned silence for a second before the remaining civilians began shrieking and scattering. The man's teenage son let out a horrible scream, tears burning his eyes as he lunged for his body, cradling it to his chest as the blood soaked through his shirt and stuck to his skin. The next moment, another kunai struck him in the back of the neck, making him choke out a yell of pain before he slumped forward, hacking a spray of blood.

Karin held Hideki in her arms as he bled, his eyelids fluttering slightly.

"Hideki, please, hold on," she begged. "We're getting you help, just hold on-"

"I think-" he weakly coughed, "- I think it pierced through my artery-"

"Don't speak, save your energy." She ordered, hoisting him up into her arms as the others began looking over the knife. Her breath hitched in a sob, even though her voice was stern. "You're going to be okay."

"No I... w-won't," he grinned despite his wound. He paused to cough, and the movement caused the kunai knife to jostle, making him cry out. Blood dribbled down his lips and stained his grit teeth a gory scarlet, making those around to cringe. One of the mothers dabbed at his bloody forehead with a wet cloth, cleaning out the wound the best she could. He whimpered, flinching away from it, but she held his chin tightly and finished, leaving a stretching laceration across his pale skin.

"Hold on!" Karin begged, her eyes prickling with tears. "What about your dream? Your dream, remember? About having a family?"

"I wanted... a family..." he mumbled dazedly. His eyes were becoming unfocused as the wound began spilling in big droplets down his neck.

"He's not going to survive this," one of the mothers muttered into the redhead's ear as the group relocated to the women's building. "If he keeps coughing it's going to widen the wound. We're going to need to take out the blade."

"But that will kill him for sure!" Karin hissed back, her ruby eyes wide and desperate. "Please, let me- I- I can do something! I'm a healer!"

She solemnly shook her head. "There's not much we can do. We don't know how many attackers have surrounded the village."

She groaned loudly, desperation in her voice.

"Ka-chan," Hideki whispered, cupping her cheek. "It's okay."

"It's not okay!" She cried out, hot tears trickling down her cheek. She tried to ignore the way his blood stained her skin from where he'd previously hacked blood into his hand. "You just turned sixteen, and- and we just decided to give this a try!"

"Perhaps I was... never destined..." he paused to cough into his fist again. "... for love..."

"Don't say something like that. Nobody should be kept from love." Her voice cracked when she spoke. "You're so young. Why did you take the hit for me?"

"I love you," he licked his teeth and smiled weakly. "You are destined... for greatness."

"But so are you," she whispered brokenly.

"Karin," one of the women warned.

"I know," she snapped, sending a sharp glance over her shoulder. She looked at the knife, a nauseous feeling rising in her stomach.

"Just pull it out," Hideki ordered. "I'll be- f- fine."

Aika came out of her hiding place to worriedly gape at the scene. They heard the civilians screaming outside, the other nin shouting.

A dull thud against the side of the house made them look over. Aika peeked over and realized that someone had thrown a flaming torch at the wall, and the flames were licking the ground around them.

Alarmed, she turned and breathed out a silent facsimile of, "Fire danger! Get out!"

The oldest, a woman in her early fifties, nodded. "First, find me a handcloth. If we're going to do it, we need to do it now before he chokes to death on his own blood."

Aika went back to her pack underground and returned a short minute later holding a clean, white cloth.

The man thanked her and pressed it tightly to Hideki's skin.

"This is going to hurt like a bitch," she warned the boy. "You need something to bite on?"

"No, I'll be fine." He almost shook his head, but the mother grabbed his chin to keep him still.

"You're gonna want something," one of the women warned. "Are you absolutely certain?"

"Please, just do it," he weakly grit his teeth together, wincing in pain.

"Okay. On three." The elder nodded. "One. Two."

She ripped it out as cleanly as she could, and Hideki's agonized shriek ripped through his damaged throat and rang through the entire building. Karin let out an involuntary sob at the hideous sound. It pierced through her chest and sent her tipping to the side, emptying her stomach into an empty pail that one of the girls hastily shoved her way.

The cloth was hastily pressed to the wound before it could begin gushing.

"Karin, can you heal him?" A pretty blonde teenager asked. Her big, watery green eyes stared at her hopelessly.

"I could try," she said numbly. "But I don't know if I'll be able to save him. I was never fully trained in the arts. Medical ninjutsu isn't my strongest point; I'm foremost a sensor. I don't think the Mystical Palm Technique can save his life..."

"Dammit." The girl swore.

"Where are the others?" The elder asked.

"Helping the other civilians," the blonde replied, shifting her eyes to the window. "Most of the shinobi are out of the village right now securing supplies, though."

"You don't-" Hideki gurgled.

"Don't speak," she urged, her voice cracking. "Please- don't speak."

He nodded weakly, watching in despair as the cloth began rapidly turning a bright scarlet red.

Karin pressed tightly to his throat until he wheezed in pain and clenched his fist, his fingers twisting into the flimsy fabric of his tank top.

"Sorry," she apologized, letting up a tiny bit. She tried to call to mind any lessons she had in repairing the carotid, but all she could think of was mending one of the veins in Sakura's hand. No arteries.

Giving him an apologetic grimace, she called forth medical chakra and held it to his throat.

He weakly gurgled as she tried to find the source of the damage. His carotid was definitely severed, an amazing feat when she glanced down at the little knife, but other than that, it had barely scraped by anything else important. He was rapidly bleeding though, and he would die soon if she couldn't fix it.

She tried her best to fix the wound, trying to sew together the artery as her patient rested with his eyes half-lidded and in a confused haze, but right as she stitched the last bit together, he coughed violently and it abruptly tore. Blood spewed from his mouth, staining the dingy dress of the teenager beside her and splattering the redhead's face.

She ignored the horrified shriek in her ear and the warm blood dribbling down her forehead, forced down the rising vomit in her throat at the stench, grit her teeth and sewed it back together, pausing for a few moments for anything to happen. When she was satisfied that it was safe, she heaved a shaky sigh and gently squeezed Hideki's limp hand.

"He's lost a lot of blood," she commented, grimacing at his fist. The blood was already drying into disgusting ruby flakes on his pale skin.

"You've done all you can," the elder replied, patting her on the back. "We'll need to keep watch through the night."

She nodded, gazing into his glassy eyes. The fire began to spread behind her to the wall, but she hardly cared.

"We need to leave," Aika wheezed. She gripped her throat in pain, but willed more air past her damaged larynx. "Fire. Now."

"We'll need to take shelter in the basement tonight." Another woman, Harako, noted with steely navy eyes as she observed the crackling flames licking at the wall near the window. She looked to the teenager with the stained dress, "You, go and prepare a place for the boy. I have a feeling that he's got a long and difficult road ahead of him."

The girl nodded shakily, grimacing at the splotches on the dress when she shifted, revealing more of the fabric to be stained. She hurried off into the darkness.

"Hideki," Karin gently poked his cheek. "Are you awake?"

The boy's eyes lazily shifted over to meet hers, but he said nothing for a few seconds. A weak, encouraging smile tugged at his lips.

"Live," he mouthed. "I love you."

Then his eyes rolled back into his head and his lips parted, and he fell unconscious.

The tears in Karin's eyes finally dribbled down her cheeks when she let out an anguished cry, the flames beginning to grow louder as they crept up the walls. She hardly felt Aika's soothing arms around her as the civilian women took Hideki from her and moved him past, into the basement.

"He's weak," Harako announced. "But with some luck, and perhaps a blood transfusion, he'll live. Does anyone know what type he is?"

"AB," another replied. "I recall him speaking about it the other day. Remember when he scraped his knee badly enough to need stitches?"

"Oh, I remember," the woman chuckled fondly, stroking her fingers through Karin's thin fiery tresses, dotted with his blood. Without a hairtie to hold it back, they fell about her face and neck in a way that, now, highlighted her youth and contrasted greatly against her now-paler skin. "We'll need to prepare someone to donate. Who here has AB?"

"I do," Karin spoke up before anyone could react, her hollow voice making the older ladies turn to her with sympathetic frowns. "I- I can do it."

When she moved to get up to help, the blade clattered to the ground, the blade streaked with ribbons of blood. His blood.

She gingerly picked it up and turned it over in her hands. Her eyes widened when she saw a familiar symbol on the back of the blade, and Aika sucked in a stunned breath.

"A lily..." Karin mumbled, looking up with horrified eyes at the window. Already, most of the homes in the village were going up in flames. The mangled corpses of the citizens littered the center, their blood seeping into the stones like paint.

Men, women, children. All dead and dying. All within the span of half an hour. All because of _one_.

"We've... we've been attacked by the White Lily of Death...!"

* * *

From beyond the expanse of trees, Tsunade watched, with Jiraiya's arms about her, both mourning silently as they watched the plume of thick, black smoke rising from the direction of Morino, hanging above the trees like an ominous wraith.

The blonde clenched her jaw, squeezing her eyes shut as Jiraiya looked away solemnly.

"Your premonition was right," she angrily muttered, gripping the front of his jacket. "And now... we're too late. I never should have left her there with them. I should have known the royal army would strike again."

"I'll be heading that way tomorrow morning to erect a shrine for the deceased," he murmured into her ear, comfortingly stroking along her back. "I'll bring back any survivors I might find."

"Please do." She agreed, opening her watery eyes to stare at the rising flames. Her men had to be okay. _Karin_ had to be okay. "I've surely lost a daughter tonight."

She heaved a ragged sigh, craning her neck to gaze up at him. "I need a drink."

* * *

**A/N: And so the plot thickens... (I'll take any and all "Not just the men, but the women, and the children too" jokes here and now.)**

**Also, really sorry about the gore! Hideki taking the fall for Karin is supposed to be a big turning point for the village, and it would feel a bit _too_ short otherwise. I tried not to go into intense detail, but... well, what else are you gonna write for someone who's gotten stabbed through the neck?**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you all next week!**


	43. Chapter 42

**A/N: Thanks for waiting. Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

_Chapter 42: The Sun Rises on Shadows of the Wicked_

* * *

The next morning, after a fitful sleep, Fugaku awoke to his wife's back, rising and falling peacefully.

He'd gone to bed without her the night before, and he had been greatly worried, yet now he was more than relieved that she'd come back to him.

When he touched her shoulder, the rise of her body faltered for a moment, before she rolled over to smile endearingly at him.

"Morning," she sleepily whispered, pressing a kiss to his nose. "I'm sorry I didn't come back before you went to bed last night."

"I'm just happy you're all right," he responded, pulling her to his chest. He kissed the top of her head and they lay there for a few moments more, basking in their love.

When she stretched and reminded him that they needed to be up, he reluctantly agreed. At the very least, he fondly watched as she went about to get ready for the day, happily helping her lace up the back of her dress and pecking up her spine as he went.

She giggled and teased him for that, to which his cheeks lit up and he began sputtering. She simply shook her head in amusement and got him out of bed to bathe and dress.

The morning had gotten off to a wonderful start so far, and he was hoping that it would continue to stay that way.

He hummed a song popular in the capital as he made his way to the throne room, his wife at his side. A smile curled her painted lips and her slender fingers brushed against his knuckles.

They reached the big double-doors and, with eager looks to each other, just like they did every morning, they reached out and each took a door handle, pulling them open in sync.

It was a small matter, but it was something that made his heart swell with pride. Through the war and the death, he still had his wife at his side. He still had a son. That was enough to make his chest warm.

As he finally strode up and settled down in his throne, however, a messenger burst into the room, eyes wide and pale, panting raggedly.

He stood, onyx eyes filled with concern. "What's the hurry, page?"

"Muh- message from Morino, your excellency," he shakily bowed at the waist, clutching at his chest as he stumbled forward, seemingly lightheaded. His neck was wrapped tightly with white bandages, and his eyes were wild with fear.

Fugaku stiffened, and he only barely caught Mikoto's face deepening in a frown for a few seconds before she regained her blank face.

"What is it? Speak!" He demanded.

"I- It's gone, my king," the page stammered as he fell to his knees. "It was torched to the ground. The citizens are dead. Nothing remains in the area but smoldering charcoal. I... I have lost my dear father in the attack as well."

Fugaku's heart clenched, and he had to sit down as a heavy sigh escaped his lips.

He'd loved Morino. It was his favorite vacation spot, and the place he was planning to bequeath to his heir when they took the throne. His closest friends had been born and raised - _and killed_ \- there.

He straightened up in the throne as the guards appeared, helping the messenger to his feet.

The messenger - hardly more than a mere boy, a teenager his son's age - was still shaky, though he didn't clutch at his chest anymore. He appeared to be calming down slowly, but the moment he locked eyes with the queen, he blanched, taking a stunned step back into the arms of the guards... like he recognized her...?

Fugaku frowned, sparing a look at Mikoto. While her face was as passive as ever, there was a hidden gleam to her eyes, a secretive, troubled contemplation to seeing the boy's reaction. _She recognized him._

He quickly put two and two together and sighed once more, waving his hand. "Guards, see to it that he gets a room at the inn and enough money and food for a trip to Yugakure. You will begin a new life there and take a sum of money for your troubles."

"Yes, my king," the two men saluted in unison.

"T- thank you, my king," the boy jerkily bowed again, with only the guards to make sure he didn't tumble forward. "You are too kind."

"I loved Morino as you have," he replied dismissively. "It is admirable that you escaped such a tragic event. It's the least I can do for a boy."

The guards tugged, not unkindly, at the boy's arms, leading him out of the throne room. The moment they were gone, Fugaku turned to his wife with a questioning frown.

"Mikoto, what have you done?" He asked, unable to stop the disappointment and hurt creeping into his voice. He couldn't even recognize the face that blatantly avoided meeting his. "You've torn a family asunder in the name of the Uchiha?"

"I have saved us from sure destruction," she answered simply, giving him a sharp glance for a moment before staring straight ahead. If he stared long enough, he could see the pain in her eyes. "I have done what you could not."

* * *

Later in the day, Shien was in the private gardens, singing quietly to herself as she plucked a cotton-topped dandelion from the grass.

She paused a moment, closing her eyes to wish. "I wish for luck in my mission."

As she opened her eyes and blew the seeds away gently, she hardly noticed the cloaked woman standing behind her until a gentle hand came to rest on her shoulder.

She flinched at the contact, cursing herself for not realizing that someone else was there. The stem dropped from her hands as she looked up, meeting mellow gray-blue eyes.

The woman felt familiar, yet she couldn't place it. What chakra signature she had was expertly masked, much to the girl's chagrin.

"Good afternoon, dear," she greeted pleasantly in a gravelly voice. "Lovely day today. Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Not at all, ma'am," she shook her head, scooting over on the bench. "By all means, please rest."

"Thank you." The aged woman nodded, going to shakily sit down on the bench. Gray, wispy hairs spilled out of the hood, and Sakura vaguely wondered just who she was. The cane resting against her left knee clued her in to her frail nature, and she almost rose up to help her sit.

"I can sense your curiosity, young one," she chuckled, running her fingers along the polished wood. "I mean no harm to you. I am a mere traveling friend of the queen."

Her disarming smile didn't soothe Shien's worry, but she nodded and returned it with her own.

"I am..." the pinkette trailed off, "... well, honestly, I'm not quite sure about who I am."

"Oh?" The woman hummed. "Do tell."

"Well," Shien tucked a hair behind her ear with a soft sigh. "I'm here for a... special purpose. I need to help the prince and Uzumaki-san, but with Riot's activities, I'm not quite sure about what to do."

"Are you wishing to escape?" The woman asked, raising a delicate black eyebrow.

"No," she immediately replied. Then she hesitated. "I mean... yes? I mean, I just don't know. I want to be able to protect someone very important to me from death, but... I feel a horrible storm coming."

"Ah, I see," she chuckled, resting her hands atop her knee. "My my, what a dilemma for one so young. And this 'very important person', might it be...?"

Her cheeks burned, and she looked away with a frown. "I... admittedly, I have fallen in love with the prince."

"As have many before you," the woman added with a nod.

"But it is never to be," Shien continued, her shoulders falling. "He is the crown prince, and I... I am but a lady from a minor house. Even if he returned my feelings, and even if we ever eloped in secret, our union would never be blessed."

The woman nodded thoughtfully once more. "You are not the only one, dear. I, too, have felt the storm coming."

"So there is going to be war?" She looked up, almost fearfully, into the woman's dark, probing eyes. It seemed like she was looking straight through her. To call it perturbing would be an understatement.

"I am certain," the older woman clarified. "And, as it is now, I'm afraid you only have two choices."

Shien nodded slowly, looking down at her lap.

"Either you help protect your important one, or you leave him to die." The woman's voice seemed harsher now, as if she was displeased. When Shien looked back at her, she noted the woman's weathered face pulled into a frown.

"I would never leave him to die," she vowed, her chartreuse eyes hard. "I... I love him too much to let Riot kill him."

"And what of his friend, Namikaze?" The woman challenged, leaning forward.

Shien faltered. "He's... he's very dear to me too." She lost the wind from her sails as she sank against the back of the bench. "I love him as if he were my own flesh and blood. Of course I would not leave them."

The woman hummed once more, resting her hands against the top of her cane. "If you must choose between leaving with your life or laying it down to save theirs, you would sacrifice yourself?"

"I would not even need to choose," she immediately answered. "I... I know it seems concerning, but... I would never choose to escape with my life if it meant they would live."

"Ah, a vaguely concerning desire to sacrifice yourself for someone dear," the woman mused, a smile tugging at her rose-painted lips. "I recall wishing to do that, once."

"For someone you loved more than your own life?" She asked, clasping her hands together in her lap.

"Of course," the woman chuckled. "He was my eldest son. I loved him more than anyone in the world - save for my husband and youngest, of course. There came a day when I was forced to choose between sure destruction of our family and letting him go."

"And... you let him go," Shien exhaled.

"I wished to see my child live, regardless of where he went," the graying woman confirmed with a wistful frown at the bright sky. "While I wanted nothing more than to keep him safe, with his brother, I had no choice but to let him leave. I was given no choice to give up my life for his; it was either all, or none."

A shaky sigh escaped her curled lips. "I was inconsolable for weeks. My husband - bless his soul - did his utmost to cheer us all up, but there was nothing to be done. We mourned the loss of our eldest for weeks - months."

"I'm... I'm so sorry, ma'am," Shien breathed, gazing at her in wonder. "You've been through so much..."

She chuckled, waving it off. "Merely an old fool's bitterness at her decisions, and nothing more."

As she went to stand up, Shien immediately got to her feet and helped her up. As the girl's warm, soft hands left her, she secretly smiled.

"I wish you luck in your pursuit of love, young miss," she stated as she leaned forward on the cane. "I must also extend a personal invitation to the king's chambers at sundown."

"T- the king?" Shien felt like she'd been punched. "Whatever for?"

"That is for you to find out, my dear." The woman smiled reticently at her before turning. "Alas, I must leave you. But make certain that you take care of that boy, you hear? He is destined for greatness, that much I can tell."

"I- I will," Shien promised as she watched, dumbstruck, as the woman hobbled away.

* * *

**A/N: ****Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	44. Chapter 43

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 43: An Unfortunate Change of Plans_

* * *

The shadows crept long across the marble floors as Shien stood, breathless and worried, in front of the king's chambers.

The guard had gone in already to announce her presence, the remaining one giving her a sympathetic look as she stood, trembling slightly.

"Don't worry yourself into the medical bay," the guard's soft voice startled her a little as she stared at the woman. Kind violet eyes smiled back at her, wrinkles creasing at the corners. "The king and queen do not normally call servants into their chambers to punish them. You must have gotten a promotion."

"I don't know whatever for, if that's it," Shien laughed nervously, twisting a stray lock of hair around her finger.

The other guard stepped back out, beckoning her in. "Do not keep his highness waiting," he ordered.

She nodded and meekly followed him in, her heart pounding in her ears. Despite the guard's kind, consoling words, she couldn't help but envision the king demanding she be thrown out, some evidence of her double-crossing in his hands.

As soon as she reached the king's bedroom, she hesitated, but knocked softly.

"Bring her in," the king ordered from further inside.

The guard opened the door and gestured, sending her a wink and a mouthed 'good luck'.

She nodded, smiling shakily at him before strolling inside, trying her best to quell her fears and put on a confident front.

The king and queen were sitting on a sofa, and they looked up upon seeing her.

"Ah, Miss Hayashi. Welcome." The king greeted.

"We have been awaiting your arrival," the queen added with a sweet smile. "You are not punished, I assure you."

"Yes. Rather, we must congratulate you." Fugaku looked her up and down, seemingly searching her for something, before nodding. "You have pleased both of us with your work here."

"We have heard from Sasuke his feelings about you working here, and we have decided to honor them and betroth you." The queen finished, clapping her hands together.

Time paused for a second as Shien sucked in a breath. Her brain went blank. All of her earlier trepidation flew out the window and was replaced with a blank, toneless _What._ All she could stammer was, "W- what?"

"As you know, Sasuke is to take the throne on his nineteenth birthday this month." The king began explaining. "As is tradition, he cannot ascend the throne without a wife. Seeing as he has shown no interest in other suitors and only seems to have eyes for you, we have discussed this at length. Thus, we have given our blessing to marry you. We have found you worthy to become his bride."

"You will be married three days before the coronation, on the twentieth." The queen said, standing up and gently resting a hand on her shoulder. "Dear, you look like you're going to faint. Do you need a chair?"

Shien faintly shook her head. "N- no, your highness, I will be fine. I'm just... processing."

"Do not fret, I felt like I was going to pass out when I learned of my betrothal," Mikoto giggled, guiding her to a sofa opposite theirs. "We must inform you, however, that as Riot has been silent following the... unfortunate destruction of Morino-"

When Shien's head snapped up and her eyes went wide in horror, she nodded and continued, "we must make certain that this goes on as planned. Thus, we will need to keep the wedding secret until the date."

Her eyes turned sharp as she beheld the shaky girl. "Understood? This must remain a secret for your own safety."

"Y- yes, of course," Shien nodded. "I will not tell a soul."

"Excellent." The king piped up, handing her a list. "This will be your schedule for the next week. We must hurry to get everything ready, so you will have to do several things at once. Are you well enough?"

"Yes, your highness, I am." She nodded once more, gently taking the list and staring at it. The words hardly registered in her rapid thoughts.

"If you have no other questions," Mikoto encouraged.

"W- well, yes, just one." Shien gingerly folded the list and put it in a pocket. "Uh, are you certain that the date must be the twentieth?"

"We could move it up to the twenty-second, but it's a rather harsh time crunch," Mikoto explained. "If you wish it, however, we will."

"Please do," Shien implored. "Thank you for your time, my king, my queen. I must return to my chambers. I have... quite a bit to think of."

"Of course." The king seemed quite sympathetic. "Please, rest. You will need your energy."

"Thank you for meeting with us, Shien," Mikoto gave her another kind smile as she helped the girl up, leading her to the door. "I am certain that you will be very happy together. I know Sasuke will be most pleased."

"This is quite a bit to think about," Shien admitted with a shuddery sigh. "But I can't deny that I'm... happy."

"That's wonderful, dear girl." Mikoto gave her a polite goodbye as she exited the chambers.

As soon as Sakura was out of sight of the king and queen's bedroom, she sagged against the wall, letting out a heaving breath.

Her eyes burned as she muffled a sob in her arm. Her mind was racing painfully, and all she could think of clearly was: _"I need to warn Tsunade."_

* * *

A letter was quickly penned and sent out after seeking out a shadowy, crimson-eyed man skulking about the palace grounds, and just after midnight he managed to reach Tsunade's camp with only a few words of warning before he disappeared in a flurry of crows.

Tsunade took the letter, rubbed her eyes blearily, and squinted at the page. When she read through Sakura's panicked scrawls, her eyes widened and she let out a swear that would make Hidan shiver in delight.

"Cypress!" She barked into the tent, and when the brunette shuffled out, she ordered, "Assemble my most trusted soldiers. The mission is in danger."

Noh took one look at the letter and nodded, thanking Itachi before disappearing.

He left soon after, and once everyone was assembled in Tsunade's tent did she speak.

"Change of plans," she opened, holding up the wrinkled letter. "The Uchihas have decided to marry Sakura to the prince on the twenty-second. We must invade no later than the night of the twentieth, so that we can end this."

"Sakura's getting married?" Ino's eyes bugged. "To _Sasuke_?"

"That's what the letter says," Tsunade confirmed with a frown. "Shikamaru, Temari, you both need to attend to the court in order to find any weak spots in their defense. No doubt they will double or even triple security this week. Unfortunately, while you're there you must let your friends know they cannot join us at this time."

"Of course, ma'am." Temari nodded, and Shikamaru gave a two-finger salute.

Hinata frowned, worrying her bottom lip in her teeth. "What of Morino?"

"Only a handful of survivors, and Karin is among them." Noh reported. "Unfortunately, ninety percent of our soldiers have been killed. Only a small portion of the medical team has survived, as well as a group of civilians. They've been relocated to the nearest untouched village, Hokukawa, for the time being. A number of young men and women in that group have joined our cause, and the children are in the process of being adopted into the village."

"What of that boy, er, Sato?" Shikamaru asked. "He was in that group, was he not?"

Tsunade hesitated. After a second, she frowned, slowly shaking her head. "We have not heard word yet about his condition. Once everyone is accounted for at Hokukawa, I'm certain we'll know if he's included in that number."

"What of the Akatsuki?" One of the soldiers asked next. "Haven't some of their number been captured?"

"Yes, but we're in the process of helping them escape." Tsunade nodded. "Itachi and Sasori have already made a great amount of progress in detailing weak spots in their dungeons. We're expecting their official return from the capital any day now."

"But we don't have enough time left," another disagreed. "They need to do it now!"

"To the royal family, Uchiha Itachi has been all but dead for seven years. If they attempt a rescue now, there's no doubt he'd be discovered with the tightened security." Noh argued with a steely look. "You'll do well to remember that he's no fool. He will lead a rescue attempt when he feels the time is right."

"On that note, we, too, must prepare ourselves." Tsunade rested her hands on her hips. "Noh, I need you to relay to Hatake that we need reports every morning and evening from the capital."

"Hai." She nodded and left the tent.

"The rest of you? Keep alert for my orders." She frowned. "These are hasty days, I know, but we must remain calm and collected. Keep your wits about you, and you won't be caught off-kilter by any surprises."

"Hai!" The group chorused.

* * *

**A/N: The plot chickens.**

**And yeah, that old woman from the previous chapter is exactly who you thought she was.**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you all next week!**


	45. Chapter 44

**A/N: Featuring someone that I haven't forgotten exists! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 44: From Bad to Worse_

* * *

The next afternoon, Sasuke sought out his mother. He found her in the tapestry room, humming to herself as she worked on a brand-new tapestry for the wedding.

"Mother!" Sasuke called as he walked into the room, his shoulders scrunched in irritation.

"Ah, Sasuke-chan," Mikoto greeted with a warm smile. She sat back, away from the loom, and turned her body to face him. "What do you need? You don't often come to watch me weave anymore."

"What have you done to Shien?" He asked, gesturing to the door over his shoulder. "She's been strangely quiet all day, and she's been avoiding me as if I've got the plague."

"Ah." The monarch nodded simply, going back to the loom. "Your father and I have decided to honor your happiness and wed the two of you the day before the coronation."

He paused, surprised. "Wait, really?"

"Yes." Mikoto sent her youngest son a pleased look. "We have both independently found her to be worthy of you. My only concern is if you'll be worthy enough for her."

"I would never harm her, nor would I harm any woman I marry," he defended, before he stopped and shook his head. "Wait a second, why would you suddenly decide that my happiness comes before the throne? Haven't you been dismissing my happiness ever since Itachi left?"

"Please don't speak of Itachi," she pleaded quietly.

"He was my brother, _Mother_," he snapped. "And Father cast him aside without a second thought. Now answer me! Why do you suddenly care?"

"Your feelings are clear as the day, son," she deadpanned. "Your father and I have decided, since you feel strongly about her anyway, that it would be easier to wed you two than find a nobler match from the young ladies you _haven't _already rejected."

"What if Sakura were still alive?" He challenged with a glare. "You were always so adamant that she was to remain just a friend to me and nothing more. What if she were here instead?"

Mikoto paused in her weaving, in thought for a few moments. Then, after several seconds of silence, she frowned at him.

"Sasuke, you know our tradition mustn't be broken," she chided. "However, even if she were alive and here, she would not have been our first choice. She was a mere commoner, not a noblelady from a clan. Shien is our choice now, and she still would have been then."

"Even if I loved her and no one else?" He asked, his voice raising.

"You know what your father would say, Sasuke," she retorted, her eyes growing cold. "Really, I am disappointed in you. Even if you loved her, you could not have her. Besides, she's been long deceased. Whatever you two shared? It's over. You're betrothed to Miss Hayashi now. The wedding is in a week; I'd suggest you save your energy for it."

He sputtered for a few seconds before angrily groaning, turning and storming out of the room.

Mikoto merely heaved a sigh, trying to go back to concentrating on her tapestry. Now that her entire mood was thrown off-kilter, she'd have to work on calming herself and finding a new vibe.

* * *

Shien took frequent looks about her, trying to quell the nervous energy she felt.

Itachi's shadowy figure was ahead of her, guiding her through a hidden doorway. She squinted in the darkness, holding his hand tightly as they made their way down to the dungeons.

The changing of the guard was underway, and all they had was ten minutes to be in and out.

As soon as they reached the cool air of the dungeon, she let go of him and walked down the long hallway, the dark, lonely cells making her stomach clench.

Itachi paused ahead of her. "He's here."

She looked to her left and saw Deidara laying on a cot, eyes shut.

"Deidara," she breathed, taking hold of the bars. "Are you awake? It's me!"

His eyes fluttered open and he looked up, grinning at her. "Hey, if it isn't Violet, yeah. Did you get caught?"

"I will if we don't hurry this up," she muttered. "Very quickly, I need to know the identity of the man that King Fugaku is following."

Deidara's face darkened immediately, and it soured further when he noticed Itachi's presence behind her.

"Why don't you ask him, yeah?" He snapped, pointing at the ex-prince. "Surely he'd know such an important family member."

"What do you mean? We already know it's Madara," she replied, scrunching up her nose in confusion.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Deidara's voice was full of false surprise, giving her a biting grin. "I'm not sure I should divulge the info in front of the raven-keeper over there."

"It is a _crow_," Itachi reminded patiently enough, although Shien could feel a hint of his frustration with the blond. "Out with it. We don't have much time to spend here."

"Feh." Deidara blew a strand of hair out of his face and rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. Not like I'll have much use of the information, since my execution is coming up."

He slowly staggered to his feet from the cot in the corner, and as his shirt pulled up over his middle she could see how emaciated and bruised he was. It made her cringe as he stumbled over to the bars, resting his weight against them.

He stared at her. Dried blood was smeared across his lower lip, and when he grinned, she could see the split lip stretch painfully across his teeth.

"Your puppet master isn't who you think he is," he murmured with a wry chortle. "I've seen him face-to-face in the night, when no one else is supposed to be down here. Perhaps he thought I would pass it off as a dream, or perhaps he really is that stupid."

"Who is he? Tell me!" She urged, eyes wide and imploring.

Cerulean eyes bore into viridian, and he breathed a name into her ear.

Her face blanched, her mouth dropping open in horror. "What?... No... no, no, th- that's not true!"

"It's very true," Deidara nodded, pushing himself away from the bars. "You'd better hurry back, before you get caught by the guard."

"Come, Violet," Itachi whispered, feather-light fingers ghosting across her arm. "We have three minutes."

"I'll... I'll be back for you, Dei," she promised, her eyes stinging and her throat choked. "I promise."

"Don't make promises until you're sure you can keep 'em, yeah," he chuckled weakly. "Now go. I wanna see you alive on invasion day, okay?"

She nodded, not able to say anything else as Itachi whisked her away, his eyes a ruby red and alert in the darkness.

Just as they made it back into the hallway, and when Itachi's comforting hand on her upper arm disappeared, did she hurry back to her room so that she could weep in private. She would weep for the man she thought she knew, and for the one he was certain to break.

* * *

**A/N: We finally see Deidara again! Don't you worry, he's not going to die. I'd never do him like that.**

**Please tell me what you thought! I'll see you next week!**


	46. Chapter 45

**A/N: Finally at the moments you've all been waiting for! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

_Chapter 45: A Chaste Romance, Part 1_

* * *

The rest of the day was spent with Naruto and Sasuke talking out the latter's feelings.

Naruto had encouraged him to speak to Shien about it, and Sasuke was too nervous. He knew that she knew she was marrying him, and he was worried that she had grown to hate him for confiding in his parents.

In Naruto's words, all he had to do was 'man up and tell her how you feel' before he smacked the prince upside the head.

All night they spent planning what Sasuke would do. Since the next night would be the full moon, he arranged to have a few candles lit on the pedestals in the garden around the bench. The little river that ran beside it was to have little petals on its surface.

He wrote out what he would say and had Naruto help him go over it. He rehearsed it again and again until he was more confident.

The next night, they set their plan into action.

* * *

Shien went to the garden at midnight, where Naruto had told her to meet him. She was concerned, as he'd never asked her to do anything past eleven.

She crept into the open air and sucked in a confused breath when she saw Sasuke waiting for her among lit candles.

"Sasuke?" She whispered, creeping closer. "What are you doing out here? Did Naruto...?"

"He helped," he awkwardly started, holding out his hand. "Can we talk?"

"Aren't we doing that now?" She joked, forcing her nervousness down as she took his warm, pale hand and allowed him to lead her to the bench. They both sat down among the flickering candles, watching the sky above glittering with stars.

"Listen, um, before you get the wrong idea," he sighed, "I didn't know that my parents were gonna react the way they did."

"Oh, no, it's fine." She shook her head. "I'm not offended. Honestly, I'm kinda glad it's you."

He nodded slowly, looking like he was processing it. "So..."

"So..." she echoed, folding her hands in her lap. The simple pale-green gown was the same one she'd arrived in, as she didn't want to go out in just her nightgown.

He bit his lip, sparing her a glance. She was gazing at the little river going around the corner of the wall, its gentle current reflecting the moonlight beautifully.

Finally, he blurted out, "Shien, I'm in love with you."

She was slow to react. But when she did, she looked up at him with a nod. "I'm well aware."

"But do you- do you feel the same way?" He asked. "I can never truly tell what you feel. You're an enigma."

"I..." she swallowed hard before continuing, "I... I have fallen in love with you."

"So you don't have a problem with the betrothal?" He searched her eyes, almost worriedly. There were so many different emotions flashing through his coal-black eyes. Fear. Curiosity. Adoration.

"Nothing would make me happier than marrying you, out of anyone," she responded with a kind smile. She reached out to take his hand, gingerly ghosting her fingers across his bony knuckles. "You're the only one in the world that I could ever want."

A light shiver went up his spine from her touch, a pleasant warmth on his cold hands. He blushed, gazing over at her with half-lidded eyes.

She was beautiful in the moonlight, her petal-pink hair framing her face just so. The soft locks fell down her back like water, and it brought out her bright emerald-green eyes. Her lips, pale pink, were curled in a smile at him.

He reached out to cup her cheek, his eyes fluttering shut as he leaned toward her.

_"This is a dream... this has to be a dream..."_ Her heart pounded in her chest as he leaned in. _"He's really doing it... I'm gonna have my first kiss...!"_

She swallowed once more before leaning in, her own eyes squeezing shut as their lips touched. Feather-light, hardly even ghosting against each other's.

It was gentle, careful, both parties unsure of how to go forward. She doubted he'd kissed very many people before, and she could say the same of herself.

Gingerly, she tilted her head a little and rested her hands on his knees, moving her mouth against his.

His face was on fire. He'd never kissed a woman before, and this was totally new territory. He could just envision his mother's slightly-disappointed face watching him kiss his betrothed before the wedding, but at this point he didn't care.

_"To hell with tradition," _he decided as he brought her closer to deepen the kiss.

His tongue flicked against her lips, and when she parted them he slithered it inside, awkwardly moving it around her mouth. _"... is this something you do during a kiss? Am I doing this right?"_

She caught on and melded her tongue to his, the digits twirling in some kind of dance.

It was only after her eyes fluttered open and she caught his midnight irises that they both pulled away, faces red, stammering apologies to one another.

"I- I didn't mean to ruin the mood-"

"You were just so beautiful, that I had to-"

"I felt like someone was staring at me-"

"A- and I've never kissed a woman before, so-"

"-I'm sorry!" Both of them finished at the same time, faces burning red.

Once they'd finished rambling, they sat there, panting slightly for breath.

She caught her composure quickly, glancing over to see him touch his bottom lip with the tips of his pointer and middle fingers.

He realized that she was looking at him and he looked over, giving her a shy smile.

It sent her heart aflutter, and she didn't even have to fake the beaming expression that she returned. _"It never gets old to see him smile."_

"Do you wanna do it again?" She asked. _"If this is just a beautiful dream, I want to make the most of it before I have to wake."_

"Just kiss me." He replied quickly, leaning in for another. _"I've waited far too long for this moment, and nothing is going to ruin it."_

Their mouths melded together once more, her hands going to thread her fingers in his soft black hair.

He wrapped his arms about her, resting one hand on the curve of her back and the other on the back of her head, slowly feeling the strands of hair beneath his palm.

After a few seconds of feverish lip-locking, they both pulled away, faces alight in the afterglow.

"I've never done that before," he admitted.

"Me neither," she replied with a giggle. "That was kinda fun."

He stroked her cheek with his thumb, an adoring smile on his face. "I'm... just so happy that you accepted."

"I've been in love with you for weeks now," she confessed with a short laugh. "I was worried that I was reading the signs wrong."

"I was worried that I was turning you off," he replied, chuckling. "Naruto rightfully pointed out that I kinda... really suck at showing it."

They sat there together, thigh-to-thigh, Shien's head resting on his shoulder. His arm was around her shoulders, bringing her in.

After a few minutes of golden silence, filled only by the chirping crickets and the occasional breeze rustling through the leaves, Sasuke broke it. His heart beat faster than usual, a mild nervous sweat forming on his brow as he licked his lips and opened his mouth.

"Do you believe in reincarnation, Shien?" He asked, turning to look her in the face.

She thought about it for a few moments, humming in thought. "I've never really had a reason to, so I guess... not?"

She looked up at him. "Why do you ask?"

He frowned at the ground for a second before getting up and extending a hand. "There's something I need to show you."

She took his hand and allowed him to hoist her up before following him out of the garden. "Where to?"

"The tapestry room." He answered simply. "Tell me, Shien, have you ever heard the story of my family's first ancestor and the woman he loved?"

* * *

**A/N: You finally get your long-awaited kiss, SasuSaku fans!**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week for Sasuke's tale!**


	47. Chapter 46

**A/N: Here's the second part! A little shorter, but nevertheless, I hope you enjoy!**

**(Also, a note: this version of the tale of Indra and Asura is doctored for this universe. Certain details have been changed.)**

* * *

_Chapter 46: A Chaste Romance, Part 2_

* * *

"There exists a tale among my family, of our patriarch's long-lost wife." He said as they went. "She was the most beautiful woman in her land, and Indra quickly fell in love with her. It's said that she was the only one who could convince him to call off the feud with his brother."

"So why didn't she?" Shien asked.

"She never got the chance," Sasuke replied. "They were secretly married a year before Indra's father promised his legacy to Asura, and when she found out about his fury, she went to them to try and reconcile them. She was too late, and when Indra tried to finish off the battle with one attack, she jumped in the middle and took the blow for herself."

"Oh, no..." Shien covered her mouth in shock.

"She died in his arms, begging him to make up with Asura." Sasuke snorted. "It's safe to say that he didn't listen."

"And he swore revenge?" She wondered aloud. The tale sounded quite familiar, now that she thought about it.

"Yes." Sasuke nodded his head. "He managed to take out a large swath of his brother's followers in his counterattack. His father, though getting on in years, supported Asura and instructed the people of the village to give him strength. With his Wood Release and the Sage of Six Paths, he was able to defeat Indra and force him to retreat, but Indra ended up swearing that he would one day overpower and kill him."

At the weirdly sad look on Sasuke's face, she understood what he was going to say next.

"And he succeeded in the end," she hummed quietly. "How horrific."

He nodded, turning a corner. "It's lauded as a story of star-crossed lovers. I can't count on both hands the amount of times Mother told it to us as a bedtime story when we were growing up."

"It's... vaguely romantic? I guess?" She scrunched up her nose. "But wait, then how are you directly related to him?"

"They had a child before they died, one that was sent away to live with commoners," he explained. "That child was my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. He continued the line until you get to me."

"And your family believes that you're Indra's reincarnate," she flatly said.

"Do you not believe?" He rose an eyebrow at her. "Through everything that goes on in the world, this is the _one thing_ you call fake?"

"I'm not calling it fake, but it sounds... really improbable," she argued weakly as they entered the tapestry room.

"Anyways, here it is." Sasuke pointed out a floor-length one.

A long tapestry depicting several different scenes hung from the wall, depicting a brunet man and a petal-pink-haired woman of great beauty. Her kind green-eyes could be felt even though they were lifeless... and the mint-green diamond upon her pale white brow certainly reminded Shien of a certain someone.

Shien stared at the tapestry, at the woman. They looked so much alike, it was kind of creeping her out.

"A tale of love and woe is that of Indra and Emi," he recited, gazing up into the face of his ancestor. "They say that I'm Indra Otsutsuki's reincarnation, and that I will be the one to carry his legacy."

"Who is the woman?" She asked, leaning against his side.

"That's Fujiyama Emi, the woman who was said to be love in human form," he said. Then he snorted. "Too cheesy, if you ask me. Only her husband would call her that."

"She certainly is... beautiful," she breathed.

"She was so beautiful - and so strong - that Indra fell in love within days," he recalled with a frown. "Perhaps you are her reincarnation."

"What, just because I share her face?" She snorted. "Impossible."

"It's not impossible," he reminded. "I've inherited his powers."

"Yeah, but that doesn't prove anything. Just because you got his powers doesn't mean I'm a reincarnation of her." She pointed out.

"Your chakra feels different, somehow." He diverted. "I've no doubt that if I brought you to a chakra sensor that they would agree that your chakra feels as minty as a healer's chakra is green. Only Emi's chakra felt as fresh as mint, as the history books claim."

"So I've been told," she agreed with a hum. "Reincarnated, huh? That feels... weird."

"You and I are destined to be together," he softly said, threading his fingers in hers. ""We keep finding each other through history."

"We do," she nodded.

He smiled to her, taking her other hand. "You don't need to worry. I'll protect you with my life. Nobody is tearing us apart. Not this time."

"Thank you, that's very sweet." She pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. "Wanna walk back to our rooms? It's getting late."

"Yes, we definitely should." He nodded, his cheeks growing warm at the kiss.

The two of them exited the tapestry room, hand-in-hand, quietly discussing the upcoming wedding as they headed to their rooms.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two teenagers, a hidden man watched them with a crimson eye.

A cruel smile curled across his lips. _"Hmmm... Emi Fujiyama, huh... I can definitely see it."_

Her chakra felt fresh as mint, and if he focused he could see a familiar diamond-shaped bundle of chakra centered on her forehead, just waiting to make its appearance. _"Well well well... and what do we have here? A disciple of that wretched Hashirama's granddaughter?"_

"Once she gains the seal, she will gain the power," he mused to himself. "Hopefully little Sasuke-chan will be able to do what _he _could not."

"Then again," he chuckled, disappearing into the shadows once more, "_I_ could not even save her. His efforts will be fruitless. But I... I will not be so unfortunate. I will finish what _you_ began."

* * *

**A/N: We're coming closer to a conclusion! I'm getting pumped up!**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	48. Chapter 47

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 47: Growing Tensions_

* * *

Three days before the invasion, and Shien was feeling the pressure.

The days seemed to fly by, from wedding dress fittings to rehearsals in the throne room. She could tell that Sasuke was beginning to crack too, but at least he was better at hiding it.

_"A lifetime of practice,"_ she mused bitterly, glancing outside at the bright blue sky. _"Oh, to be free. To be outside again."_

She paced about after being fitted for the wedding gown, going out to find Naruto standing indecisively over a table of streamers.

"Naruto, help," she pleaded.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked, concerned, as he turned his whole body to face her.

"I'm panicking," she meekly replied, wringing her hands together. "I need advice before I explode."

"I'll try," he shrugged uncertainly and folded his arms across his chest. "What are you feeling?"

"I'm _panicking_," she said flatly. "I'm so worried about the wedding, I can't sleep at night. What if something goes horribly wrong? What if Riot attacks on the wedding day? What if- what if we actually get _married_? What if I actually become the queen of a country? I don't feel ready for this! I'm only nineteen! I have so many more things I want to do before I settle down into a doomed marriage!"

"Hold on, are you nervous that Sasuke's gonna fall out of love with you the second you two get hitched?" Naruto asked incredulously, his eyebrows almost up to his hairline.

She gave him a half-hearted glare. "... maybe..." At his chuckling, she defensively sputtered, "-Hey, don't laugh at me!"

"And what's this about you worrying that the day is gonna go wrong?" He teased, elbowing her gently in the side. "I didn't think you were the type of girl to worry about stuff like this!"

"Every girl worries even a little bit about her wedding day!" She defended, crossing her arms. "It's one of the most important things you can do, besides adopting a kid or going rogue or something!"

He chuckled, patting her shoulder. "Don't worry so much, Shien! From what he's told me, I can confidently tell you that he's a hundred-and-thirty-percent in love with you. Trust me, he's gonna be happier once you're hitched, 'cause then he won't have to hide his feelings anymore."

She blushed at the insinuation, looking down. "... oh, I see."

"Sorry, was that too forward?" Naruto shook his head. "Anyways, don't worry. I remember that Hinata felt the same way, even though she didn't actually love him. She was so nervous that once they got married and had a kid, that he'd cast her aside. But we both know Sasuke's not the type to do that."

"Yeah, he's not," she agreed quietly. She honestly couldn't picture Sasuke divorcing his queen once he has his heir(s). "The queen would beat his ass for that."

"And we all know she's perfectly capable, even when sick," Naruto laughed. "She is one stone-cold badass when she wants to be. She _is_ the White Lily, after all."

"_She is_?" Shien looked up in surprise.

"You didn't know?" Naruto asked, stunned. "I thought it was common knowledge. Everyone in the royal family knows it. In the early days, she was the assassin known only as the White Lily of Death. Once she had It-" he paused, eyebrows furrowing, "-when she started having kids, though, she set it aside. Now she only pulls it out when she absolutely has to."

Shien thought back to the letter she'd received two days ago, of the news of Morino's torching. Ninety-eight percent of their troops, both in Morino and out, had died, and Karin was inconsolable in the wake of Hideki's unstable status. She had longed to go comfort her and to help the younger boy recover, but she was trapped in the palace until the wedding. Thinking about it now, it still felt like a bucket of ice water down her back to realize that _Mikoto _had singlehandedly killed most of the village and had burned it to the ground.

"Wow," she breathed, mostly to herself. "It makes sense now."

"Summons to the throne room, you two," A silver-haired soldier came up to them, pointing behind himself.

"Thanks, Hatake-san!" Naruto grinned up at him.

Shien looked up into his concerned eyes and gave him an uneasy smile, as well as a hidden note to meet her in her quarters later. "Thank you."

* * *

"Ah, welcome." Fugaku greeted the two as they walked in and knelt before the throne. "Rise."

They obeyed and watched him as he gave orders.

"As you know, I need to increase security for the wedding and coronation." He began. "That, of course, includes a bodyguard for you, Shien."

"Yes, my king." She nodded.

"Naruto, I'm appointing you to be her personal bodyguard for the day before, during, and after the wedding." He instructed. "Once the coronation is over, you can go back to your position as the prince's bodyguard. It's imperative that you keep her unharmed... we can only guess as to what Riot is planning, and when."

"Of course, my king." Naruto bowed. "It would be my honor to serve the lady Hayashi."

"You are both dismissed." Fugaku's face held a hint of a smile as he shooed them away, though he hid it by looking to the side.

* * *

Later that day, Kakashi made his way to Tsunade's camp, in possession of a letter from Sakura.

Tsunade was awaiting him in her tent. "Ah, Hatake-san. You have a report from the palace?"

"Yes, Iris-sama," he nodded, handing her the letter. "From Sakura."

"Ooh, perfect," she exclaimed as she unfolded it. She read through it quickly, her happy face dropping more and more.

Finally, when she was done reading, she sighed heavily. "Increased security, Naruto as a bodyguard... he really wants this to go off without a hitch, huh?"

She rubbed her temples, scanning through it again. "I'm almost tempted to invade tomorrow, but we must go on as scheduled. They're anticipating us to make a move now. Luckily for us, we know the wedding day."

"What should we do?" Noh piped up from her place at the entrance to the tent, next to Kakashi.

"Gather the faction from Morino as a standby," she instructed. "They'll have to be our B-team in case things go south. I'm sure Karin would jump at the chance."

"Ah, yes," she winced. "Regrettable, but unfortunately, there wasn't much we could have done."

When Kakashi sent her a confused glance, she merely shook her head.

* * *

**A/N: We're getting down to the wire now! Only a one more arc until the end!**

**Please tell me what you thought. See you next week!**


	49. Chapter 48

**A/N: Here's a couple I don't show often, but I simply adore! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 48: A Troublesome Love Confession_

* * *

Shikamaru looked over at Temari, who was clad in a pretty golden-yellow dress that brought out her teal eyes. It had long, draping sleeves, both to hide her scars from being in the dungeons and to make her appear more dainty. Her hair was done up in a single ponytail, her bangs pinned back. Even her face seemed to change when she had it all done up. With the addition of some makeup, she hardly seemed like the same plain political prisoner that they'd rescued a month ago. She seemed more like the elegant, high-ranking woman that she was.

Over their time of being paired together for recon missions, they'd grown quite close. It felt like they'd known each other forever at this point, something that gave him muted happiness. She was endlessly fascinating, whether it be sharing stories about her younger brothers with a fond, faraway gaze, to ribbing him about his hair. (Deep inside, he had to agree to a degree - he found the way his hair stuck out to be a bit ridiculous, but he didn't see any use letting it hang, nor did he feel like growing it.)

He blushed, sighing to himself as he looked away. They were currently masquerading a young married couple in the capital, trying to get some kind of inside look at the palace. If it hadn't made things awkward for his feelings before, the tension between them certainly did the trick. He could never quite figure out if she liked him more than a comrade. Either he was reading the signs wrong (which, given that he lived with his parents for eighteen-odd years, he was _sure_ he couldn't be wrong), or she was just like his mother... and he didn't really know what to think about _that_.

He guessed that it was a clan thing to go after feisty, short-tempered, badass intelligent women. Even his father seemed content with his mother, and his mother was easily one of the most troublesome women he'd ever met. Nagging, yet she genuinely cared. (Tenten would've called it tsundere, had she been here.) He'd gotten engaged to Ino (against his will, might he add), one of his dearest friends in Konoha. She gave off much of the same vibe as his mother, yet there was a level of naivete to her that made her more akin to an annoying sister. Hell, he'd even considered pursuing Sakura for a time before she faked her death, and she constantly tried to one-up Ino for the prince's affections. She never really nagged him, though. If she ever had to get snippy, it would be if he neglected to take care of himself during one of his studying binges. Mother hen more than a potential girlfriend. And now here he was, _definitely_ crushing on the princess of the Sand, a stubborn, temperamental woman that Yoshino Nara would have _loved_ to meet.

_Wonderful_. The Nara family hubris had caught up to him again.

He sighed again, causing her to look over with an arched sandy-blonde eyebrow.

"You doing okay over there?" She asked.

"I'm fine," he replied, looking out the window of their shared hotel room. They'd gotten a couples' suite (with only one bed, yeah, no, he'd take the loveseat because there was no way he was breaking the gentleman's code) to keep up the charade. It came with a - pardon the pun - pretty _sweet_ window. You could see the rising mountain peaks above the sprawling forests. It was beautiful out there. A bit of pride welled up in his heart for his home city. He may have been on the run, but at least he was still able to see the beauty. He only hoped that his family would accept him back once this war was over. (His mother would definitely cry, and definitely kick his ass... but she would most likely welcome him back with open arms. That thought alone was something to really look forward to.)

She finished touching up the eyeliner in the mirror before swiveling around on the vanity stool with raised eyebrows. "Well? How do I look?"

He looked over at her and, after a brief once-over, he nodded. "You look beautiful."

"Well geez, don't be so enthusiastic about it," she huffed, but as she turned back to the vanity he could see her smile to herself at the compliment.

"We have to be at a dinner at the palace at seven, strictly for noblemen and their wives," he drawled, checking over the list again. "I'm Daichi Saito, and you're my recently-wedded wife, Kotone, maiden name Tanaka."

"Yes, I remember." She nodded to herself, getting up from the vanity. She turned off the bulbs on the frame, heading over to him. A sweet perfume caught his attention, though evanescent.

He looked back at the list. "Luckily, since we're on the list of nobles to know firsthand about a royal wedding, people won't give us a second-glance if we mention it."

"We're friends of the bride, right?" She asked, peering over his shoulder at the paper.

"Yes, you're one of her third cousins on her mother's side." He clarified. "Friends since adolescence."

"Neat." She moved away from him, adjusting the evening dress a bit. It clung to her nicely, although she looked a tad uncomfortable with the bodice, as she kept tugging at it with a freshly-manicured fingernail.

His heartbeat thudded in his chest. It was now or never. He had to do it. He had to just confess and get it over with, dammit.

It was like Ino had said before: _"You idiot! Women don't like to be kept waiting when it comes to stuff like this! Just drop your balls and tell her how you feel."_

A bit strongly-worded, but he appreciated the sentiment from his childhood friend.

"Hey, listen, uh, just in case I don't get another chance to say this," he started, surprising himself with the intensity of his voice. He just had to roll with it when she looked up, finishing, "I like you. As in, I really, really admire you."

"W- whoa, that came outta nowhere, didn't it?" She laughed nervously, brushing down her skirts. "I mean, we've only known each other a month, and we've been partners for less..."

"Is it one-sided?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow.

She paused for a moment before huffing a laugh.

"Far from it, actually. If I were still crown heir, I would gladly give up the throne for you. You make my life interesting." Temari shook her head with another chuckle, grabbing his collar and leaning in close. "Sappy stuff aside, look, if we're gonna act like it's real, let's make it real. Kiss me."

"Sounds good to me." He shrugged and leaned up to meet her lips.

His heart did a flip in his chest, and he made a mental note to thank Ino for giving him a shove when they went back to camp. But for right now, he was getting slightly dizzy from the adrenaline of kissing easily the most amazing woman he'd ever met, and he didn't have time to think about anything else.

* * *

**A/N: A little different, but I hoped you enjoyed the ShikaTema chapter. And lowkey, the 'Nara family hubris' thing is my_ favorite_ line in this entire book.**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	50. Chapter 49

**A/N: Having a couple finally meet, and bringing someone back! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 49: A Peculiar Meeting_

* * *

Ino looked around the camp and sighed. "It's so boring without ol' Pineapple-Head here," she groaned.

Hinata looked up with a smile. "The recruits from Morino and Hokukawa are coming today, remember? Perhaps they will keep you entertained."

"I just want Forehead back home safe." She rolled the stem of a dandelion back and forth in her fingers. "Her being at the palace really scares me. She could get discovered at any time and get executed."

"But she won't," Hinata reminded. "She's careful."

"Yeah." Ino smiled at that. "She's always been so tenacious with stuff like this."

The Hyuuga let out a little sigh. "Ino, do you think..."

"Hm?" She looked over.

Hinata blushed, looking away. "D- does Sakura-san... go for... you know..."

"Is she gay?" Ino blinked. "I dunno. I remember her telling me once that she was unsure of her identity, but at the very least I think she mentioned being bi? I know she's totally in love with Sasuke again, though, so maybe she just prefers men."

"Is that so?" She felt relief wash over her, and she smiled gratefully at the blonde. "This clears it up. Thank you."

"What, you thought she was a little gay for you?" Ino chuckled a little, patting the heiress's shoulder. "If she was, she would've hidden it. After that whole fiasco with Sasuke, from what I've seen, she tries to hide her true feelings. You probably saw her treating her like she does with her really close friends. We used to be pretty touchy as kids, but that's mostly 'cause I was her best friend, and we saw each other all the time. Hell, you can ask Shikamaru when he gets back; one time she totally kissed him on the cheek without realizing, and he teased her about it for a straight _month_."

"I hadn't thought of it like that..." she trailed off with a contemplative hum. "I- I'm sorry for assuming, I just thought that she..."

"Don't sweat it." Ino grinned at her, scooting away again after one last pat on the shoulder. "She wouldn't purposefully make you uncomfortable like that. Unless...?"

"N- no, my only love is for Namikaze," she politely shook her head, folding her hands in her lap. "I have eyes for no one else."

"Ah, I figured." She nodded in understanding. "You should let her know when we see her again. She'd be glad to clear the air."

* * *

They were still sitting there talking when Tsunade walked past them.

"Look alive, girls, the new faction is here." She said, glancing to them as she went.

Ino jumped to her feet giddily, helping Hinata stand up.

"Boy oh boy, I hope there's at least a cute boy among them." She exclaimed, bouncing in her spot. "I've always wanted someone to settle down with so that I can lead the clan, but since that whole thing with Shikamaru I haven't been able to."

"You truly care for him, don't you?" Hinata laughed quietly, allowing her to lead her to the center of camp.

"Of course I do!" Ino beamed in pride. "That smidiot and I have been friends for years now. We go way back. I daresay I know him better than Tenten and Lee do."

"The orphan siblings?" She asked.

"Yeah, the ones that got 'adopted' by Gai." The blonde nodded. "Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto used to be a part of the group too, but that was before we all got separated. Life, y'know."

"Yes, I do." She nodded. "It ruins many plans."

They quieted and watched as several older men and women, some with healing burns, others with arms wrapped in bandages, leading a large group of civilians and shinobi.

"Greetings, Faction Thirteen." Tsunade greeted them, shaking the hand of the nearest leader. "It's been a long journey for you."

"Indeed, it has," a gruff-voiced woman agreed. "We total a hundred in number, just as you were warned."

"Luckily I have extra space near the tree line." Tsunade gestured to the back of camp, where a large space fenced in by trees lay. "Feel free to set up your tents there. You'll receive instruction after dinner."

"Thank you, Iris-sama." The group collectively bowed to her before walking off, some of the men barking orders.

Karin made her way from the crowd to envelop Tsunade in a tight hug, her ruby-red hair dulled a bit by dirt and caked mud.

"Dear dear, you need a bath." Tsunade sighed, hugging her just as tight. "How was the trip, Karin?"

"It was... alright," she admitted in a quiet voice. "Everyone was accounted for."

"What of... him?" Tsunade asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.

Karin's fists clenched and her back shuddered slightly with the breath she took.

"I- I don't want to discuss him right now," she replied, her voice waving. "Where do you bathe?"

"The river over there." Tsunade waited until she looked up to point her in the right direction. "Set up your tent and go bathe. I'll tell the others to hold off for a bit."

"Thank you, Mom." Karin gave her a watery smile before trudging off, hanging her head.

Ino and Hinata watched her go with silent frowns.

Tsunade heaved a sigh and rubbed her forehead. "The poor girl. She was so excited for the future, too..."

"Did he... not make it?" Hinata asked timidly.

"Apparently, he survived long enough to reach the next village," she responded tiredly. "He died in her arms in the clinic."

Hinata covered her mouth with her hands and Ino looked away, a pained look in her eye.

"Only sixteen..." Tsunade continued with a shake of her head. "I should have known better than to allow him to stay behind with the group. I should have known he would pull some self-sacrifice bullshit. She was inconsolable, and I couldn't be there to save him."

She walked off, muttering to herself about suicidal teenagers and their sacrifice 'for the greater good'. The loss wounded her too, and it was clear that she would be changing tactics concerning young recruits soon.

As they stood there, a new voice came from behind.

"Excuse me, where has Saita gone to set up our tent?" As they turned around, they noticed a pale boy with straight black hair framing his face. He held a pack in his arms, a fake smile on his face.

"Oh, tall guy with long red hair?" Ino asked, pointing her thumb over her shoulder. "Small green eyes? Freckles?"

"Yes, that's him." He confirmed.

"He probably went near the river to set up." She advised. "I'd start around there."

"Alright, thank you. My name is Sai." He stuck out his hand. "What's your name?"

"Ino Yamanaka," she greeted with a smile, shaking his hand firmly. "It's good to meet you, Sai."

"As with you, Miss Beautiful." He gave her another fake smile before nodding to Hinata and going past them.

Ino stood stock-still, her cheeks pink.

Hinata giggled, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Is this proving to be entertaining?"

"I- I think it will," she nodded, a slow smile spreading across her face when she glanced back at Sai's retreating form. "I think it will."

* * *

**A/N: Just wanted to finally have these two meet. Sai is so adorable!**

**And yeah, the poor kid is dead. If you saw it coming, well, good job.**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week for a very special chapter!**


	51. Chapter 50

**A/N: Of course, where would I be without a chapter dedicated to Jiraiya and Tsunade? Enjoy, and happy 4th of July!**

* * *

_Chapter 50: Late to the Party, Just in Time_

* * *

The night came, and Tsunade was moving through the forest with Jiraiya in the moonlight, laughing and talking.

He'd found a little spot in the forest near Morino that he wanted to show her, yet unbeknownst to her he was planning to finally tell her how he felt.

He didn't know if she loved him, but he had to get it off of his chest... especially since neither of them could come out of the invasion alive.

_"I need to man up and do it," _he told himself, clenching his fist. _"I can't hold off until it's too late."_

Tsunade, meanwhile, found the trip nice. She didn't get to spend enough alone time with him for her comfort. She was still conflicted about what she felt for him, but she could safely say she did love him. Perhaps they weren't meant to be together yet, but she yearned for the day they could be.

_"If I don't seize this chance now, I'll never get to," _she mused to herself, stealing a glance at the taller, white-haired man. _"He's been such a faithful friend, I... I don't want to bury him before he knows."_

* * *

When they got to the small clearing, Jiraiya pushed aside a low-hanging branch to reveal a well-lit pond surrounded by low-hanging trees. Lanterns were floating on the water, giving it a magical feel.

Tsunade smiled widely up at him, moving to sit by the water. "This is beautiful, Jiraiya. When on earth did you find this place?"

"I found it while I was fishing one day," he explained, sitting beside her and lightly dipping his bare toes in the cool dark water. "I was walking back to Morino and I accidentally tripped on a hole and fell through the bushes here."

She chuckled, shaking her head and resting her hands on the grass behind herself. "Classic. Had anyone else told me that, I would have a hard time believing them."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I can be sneaky, Tsunade!" The white-haired man wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"You better not be peeking on my girls in the river!" She glared, scrunching up her sleeves to punch him. "If I find even _one line_ about them in your porn-"

"Nah, not them," he shook his head rapidly, raising his hands in surrender. "Other villages I've been to. You'd be surprised just how easily I can come across, ahem, inspiration."

"You lecher," she grumbled, pulling her sleeve back down. "Anyways, what did you want to bring me all the way out here to say? You know how I feel about Morino right now."

"Uh, yes, right." He coughed, looking over at her. "Tsunade, we've been comrades since we were adolescents."

"Of course."

"And we've been friends for ages."

"Depends on who you ask, but yes, carry on."

"What I'm trying to say is that I've been in love with you ever since we were training cadets," he finally spat out, breathing a sigh of relief once he'd gotten it out. "And with the invasion of the castle coming, I feel like this is the best night to tell you."

She blinked. She stared at him for a good ten seconds.

His cheeks were slightly pink from embarrassment, and he was looking everywhere but at her.

Then a smile spread across her lips. She shook her head with a chuckle.

"Jiraiya, you coward, look me in the eye when you tell me you love me." She gently took his cheek and turned his head so that they were eye to eye.

She smiled softly at him and pulled him close. "I love you too."

When she kissed him, his brain short-circuited for a few seconds. Then, after a stunned silence, he kissed back, wrapping his arms around her smaller frame.

Their lips moved together in harmony, their eyes closed in bliss. It felt as if all of the romantic tension that they'd been weighed down with for twenty years had suddenly lifted, leaving them lighter than air.

The kiss wasn't passionate in any way, but it was slow and sensual. A quiet tango between two eager participants, supplemented only by one tangling their fingers in another's hair and the other pulling them closer by the small of their back.

Once they parted, Tsunade was in his lap and gazing up at him with twin honey irises full of adoration and love.

"I've been wanting to do that for longer than I'd like to admit," she said, gently stroking his face with her fingertips.

"I thought I would never be able to tell you before either of us kicked it," he joked with a rumbling laugh. "But now that I've said it, I feel better than ever. I almost want to hold off the invasion just so that I can spend my time catching up on everything we've missed."

"Believe me, that sounds wonderful right now." Tsunade agreed with a soft sigh as she rested her head against his shoulder. "But we must focus solely on the mission."

"Right, yes, the invasion," he reluctantly replied, resting his chin atop her head.

"Don't be so sulky about it, you idiot," she laughed, glancing up at him. "I never said that I wanted to get rid of what we just gained."

"You wanna wait?" He asked, his eyes flickering to the nearest floating lantern in the water.

She was silent for a few seconds, tracing patterns on his wrist.

Then she nodded slowly, looking up to press a soft kiss to the underside of his chin.

"Please wait for the war to end," she pleaded, squeezing his hand.

He chortled then, a rumbling one that vibrated all through his chest and making him take a breath. When the fit subsided, he gave her a big grin.

"I've waited forty-something years to tell you how I felt," he replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "For you, I would gladly wait another forty years if I needed to."

"So you do agree that going into a committed relationship now would be rushing it?" She asked softly, eyes full of concern. "I don't want to lose you to that."

"Are you serious? Tsunade, just knowing that you want this is already making my lifetime right now." He shook his head fiercely, cupping her face with his hands. When she reached up to spread her hands over his, the grin was back. "We can start exploring our options once we restore peace. For now, I'm content to wait."

"Then the second we change this kingdom for the better, I'm holding you to that ridiculous lunch date to Ichiraku," she giggled, getting to her feet. "Your treat, of course!"

"You _still _remember that?!" He squawked in surprise. "That was when we were teenagers!"

She only cackled in reply, the sound echoing around the lit lake. "Better hurry up, old man! Last one to camp has to cook breakfast tomorrow!"

He took off after her, shouting in embarrassment, but he couldn't help the wide beaming smile drawn across his face as he chased after her.

For a fleeting few moments, it felt like they were teenagers again, goofing off after practice. He could almost see her swaying ponytail ahead of him, the girl turning around to playfully stick out her tongue at him, taunting him to go faster.

His heart was light, and it felt like he was flying through the trees all the way back to camp. For once, the future looked bright as day, and he couldn't wait to explore a new, peaceful era with the love of his life at his side.

* * *

**A/N: Aaaaaaah I love JiraTsuna so damn much. Don't you worry, I'm giving these dorks the happiest of endings (in order to soothe the hurt that his death caused, oof-)!**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	52. Chapter 51

**A/N: Another chapter of mostly SasuSaku and a little surprise visit, along with a tiny bit of angst. Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 51: Sealing the Deal_

* * *

The moon was nearly full in the sky as Sasuke and Shien stood under the gazebo in the private gardens, with his parents and Naruto standing by.

He held her hands in his, gazing deep into her eyes. She was smiling in slight embarrassment right back, feeling rather uncomfortable in the gown she was to wear.

They were both wearing ceremonial dress; Sasuke was dressed in a replica of Indra's wedding kimono, and Shien was dressed in (was was told to be) the exact wedding kimono that Emi Fujiyama had worn centuries prior.

To her surprise, the kimono was well-kept, hardly showing any signs of its true age. It felt as if she'd put on a brand-new garment that had been tailored specifically to her measurements, which was creepy enough. She didn't even want to think about the fact that she was wearing a dead woman's wedding dress... to her husband's reincarnation.

Still she stood there as calmly as can be, waiting for Fugaku to finish the rite.

It was tradition for the bride (or groom, in a few faraway cases) to go through a 'purifying ritual' in order to prepare her (or him) to wed the Uchiha heir.

Mikoto had been sweet and patient as she'd explained it while combing her hair, telling her of how she had felt when she had went through it twenty-odd years before. (Granted, the woman wasn't putting on a facade in order to sabotage the royal family from within, but still, it was interesting to hear.)

As soon as the purified water was sprinkled over their heads, Sasuke reached out and removed the hood from her head, allowing him to see the elaborate bun that Mikoto had styled for her future daughter-in-law.

He smiled softly at her, squeezing her hands encouragingly.

The couple chanted three times - once to bless them as they stepped out of their old lives, once to bless their impending union, and once more to bless their future life together.

Once they were done, he took a ring from his father and slid it onto her ring finger. She then did the same with him.

Fugaku rose his hands above their heads, blessing their union as the king of Fire and as the Uchiha patriarch.

Sasuke reached forward to remove the sakura blossom kanzashi from her bun, letting her hair fall down her back. To complete the ritual, he (mindful of the white makeup) kissed her for a few seconds before pulling away.

Fugaku smiled at the two young adults. "The betrothal ritual is complete."

"Congrats, you two!" Naruto laughed from the bench he was seated on. "Kinda superfluous considering the wedding's in about four days, but hey, ya had to do it anyway."

"That was wonderful," Mikoto praised with sweet smile at the two of them. She got up and crossed the pathway to fuss about over Sasuke. "It reminded me of the night I was engaged to your father."

"I was so nervous that I thought I was going to be sick," he chuckled awkwardly. "Luckily for you - and Mother - I didn't."

"She would have had a heart attack on the spot if you'd soiled the dress she spent so long tailoring with the maids!" She laughed aloud, pecking him on the cheek. "Anyway, you're free to stay here if you want to, but I don't doubt you're itching to change."

"This is rather itchy," Sasuke commented with a frown as he lifted the sleeve. "How did he stand through an entire ceremony in this?"

"This is so silky and nice," Shien added, running her fingertips along the satin obi. "I wouldn't mind wearing this every day."

"It does feel great, doesn't it?" Mikoto agreed, touching the sleeves with her own fingers. "I was wearing one of the replicas, but apparently the Uchiha family has been stockpiling the exact materials for the dress for decades. It's no problem at all to make another!"

"A- anyways, Mikoto," Fugaku cleared his throat, catching their attention. "They probably want to stay and talk for a moment alone. We should head to bed."

"So hasty, like always," she playfully poked him in the side and relished in his twitch away. "Okay, we can go back. Naruto, are you staying back?"

"Nah, might as well give the happy couple a little privacy," he winked at the two of them and laughed when Sasuke gave him a deadpan glare. "See you later!"

He skipped up the path ahead of Mikoto and Fugaku, who were in hushed conversation (Shien could vaguely make out Fugaku hissing "You know I'm most ticklish there!" before she figured she should stop eavesdropping).

Sasuke squeezed her hands again before he realized what he was doing and dropped them, chuckling awkwardly.

"So." He started, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So." She agreed with a small smile, folding her hands together.

"I know we didn't really get a choice, but, uh, if I proposed right now, what would you say?" He asked, bending down on one knee. It was a little difficult, but he steadied himself and gazed up at her intently.

She giggled, shaking her head at him. "Of course I would say yes, Sasuke."

"Then will you marry me, Shien?" He asked, grabbing her left hand. The ring glinted in the candlelight.

"Yes, I will." She nodded to him.

He got up from one knee and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a kiss.

It was still just as awkward and shy as their first, but this time they both knew what to do. After a few seconds, they pulled away, breaths slow and even as onyx irises met a deep emerald green.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, half-smiling. "You gonna need help washing off the makeup?"

"I think I've got it, thanks," she replied, reaching up to cover his hand with hers.

After a moment they both huffed a laugh, looking away.

Deciding to be bold, Shien spoke up. "I have to be proud of you."

"How so?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The girl, ah, Sakura." Shien nodded. "She would have been proud that you have learned to love another."

For a quick moment, Sasuke's expression darkened, and she was vaguely worried that he would snap at her, but the next moment he snapped out of it and instead pressed his lips into a thin line.

"So... uh, I guess I'll see you." He said. Then he quickly added, "Tomorrow! F- for the rehearsals and- yeah..."

She looked into his face, feeling keenly the emotions he tried so hard to hide. He was still hurting from the mention of her past life, he was scared for the future, yet the love she felt from him made her heart clench. Sasuke had always been a happy, peaceful soul in their youth, and that locked-away part of him was shining through now.

She had always been able to read his eyes like an open book. It was a bond that both delighted - and worried - her.

Her lips curled upwards, and she pecked him on the lips. "I'll see you then. Tomorrow. For the rehearsals and yeah."

For a split-second she stunned him with the move, but he gave her one last breathtaking smile before turning and leaving her in the gazebo, strolling back into the castle.

Once he was gone, Shien let out a deep breath, her shoulders falling. She gazed up into the cloudy night sky, the moon shining through the darkness.

She frowned. Tonight was the last night of freedom before everything would go to hell.

She touched her painted lips gingerly with her fingertips. "Sasuke-kun... please forgive me for what I've done."

Her back shuddered, and for a brief moment, she allowed a tear to fall down her painted cheek.

* * *

The pained cry from the man's cracked and bloodied lips was swiftly silenced by a single kunai knife.

Itachi stood, deceptively calm, over where he sat, a single droplet of blood falling from the edge of the knife to the ground below.

Kisame whistled low, inspecting his work. "Not bad. You didn't leave much of a mess, yet the warning here is crystal clear."

"Our goal is not to leave elaborate messes of our victims," Itachi coolly reminded, wiping off the blade before stuffing it into his pouch. "That's Hidan's prerogative."

"Speaking of the crazy cultist, when exactly are we gonna go rescue their asses?" The blue-skinned man asked as Itachi began strolling away.

"We strike at dawn," came the reply. Crimson eyes glanced backwards for a second before the noiret blinked and his eyes were coal black once more. "We will infiltrate the palace and grab Deidara and Hidan."

"But... what about the shorty?" Kisame asked with a frown. "We don't wanna leave her in the midst of the chaos, do we?"

For a few seconds, Itachi looked like he was considering. Recognition flashed through his eyes for a split-second before he slowly nodded. "... No, we do not. We will simply pick her up while we're there."

* * *

**A/N: Please note that I didn't take that exact ceremony from anything pre-existing. I reworked some of the Japanese marriage elements into it, yes.**

** Hope you enjoyed the last calm chapter! See you next week for the beginning of the end!**


	53. Chapter 52

**A/N: Some of these will be a little shorter than normal. Regardless, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 52: The Calm Before the Storm_

* * *

Just before dawn the next morning, messengers were sent through Konoha to alert the townspeople of the upcoming wedding two days hence.

Needless to day, everyone was in an uproar, racing back and forth to put up decorations and get ready for the date.

As Shien watched them run about from her chambers, she sighed heavily, turning to look at the little packed bag sitting on her neatly-made bed.

In fifteen minutes, Kisame and Itachi would arrive to take her back to get ready for the invasion. In fifteen minutes, her life with Naruto and Sasuke would end.

She didn't think she was ready yet.

She still had to give them a proper goodbye before Tsunade attacked. Sasuke was holed up in a rehearsal with his father (and still standoffish from the night before), and as far as she knew, Naruto would be helping the other servants with some last-minute adjustments to the chapel.

She shuddered. The chapel. She could've sworn that, when she was heading to her room the night before, that she'd seen a shadowy figure watching her from the open doorway. A bright ruby eye had stared at her and had spooked her into running back to her room and holing up in her bed for a good hour and a half.

She was lucky that the henge she'd cast removed any trace of the scars on her bicep, as well as the tattoo on her arm, one that she'd gotten a few nights after she defected. A black omega with a red circle inside. The end to a bloody cycle. The official symbol of Riot.

She made up her mind, changing into the green qipao fighting dress she'd bought in the village, as well as some black biker shorts. She slipped on some black travelling sandals that went up halfway to her knee, slipped a knife into the holster at her side, got the bag and left.

She walked down to the chapel, rehearsing what she would say. As she rounded the corner, she ran into Kisame (who was clad in a black travelling cloak).

"Whoa there!" He exclaimed, steadying her before she could stumble backwards. "You look great, kid. Itachi's finishing up his mission, and then we gotta get you outta here. Riot's going to attack very soon."

"Great, but I need to say goodbye to Naruto first." She nodded firmly, looking past him. "I'll meet up with you near the staircase!"

"Got it! Good luck." He saluted her and slunk away just as she began running down the hall.

When she ran past the staircase to the base floor, she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Mikoto near a fallen Naruto. He seemed to be unconscious, and the woman looked far too calmly down at him, her hands on his shoulders. Something in her stance was off; she was too relaxed, almost as if she were a boneless doll.

"Y- your highness," she stammered, taking a step back.

"Ah, Shien." She smiled at the girl, but it was full of hidden venom. "Lovely dress. Where are you off to?"

"T- to the fitting room, to try on the gown," she replied, stepping back again.

"Ah yes, your dress rehearsal is coming up with Sasuke-chan, isn't it." The woman mused, crossing the hallway. "Are you excited?"

"Very much, ma'am." Sakura nodded and stilled her hand near her thigh holster, just in case.

"I was too, right before my wedding day," the queen reminisced fondly. She pulled something from a pouch at her side, and Sakura realized in horror that it was a tranquilizer. "You've felt it too, yes? Riot is going to attack very soon."

"So I've heard," she said as calmly as she could. "Wh- what's wrong with Naruto? Why did you knock him out?"

"I am the protector of this family," Mikoto's voice was vacant, hollow, as if she wasn't herself. (To Sakura's horror, she realized that this was one of her wedding vows.) "When my husband, the king reigning, is proven unable, I am to take the mantle and do whatever it takes to keep my loved ones safe."

In one flying leap (that felt too unnatural for Mikoto's general graceful movements), she lunged at the pinkette. Sakura shrieked and managed to dodged just in time to send the monarch tumbling unceremoniously to the ground, the syringe clattering along the marble.

She was slow to get up, and Sakura's brain screamed at her to _run_. Her eyes were a darker inky-black than usual, any warmth that was usually there, gone.

She barely caught a glimpse of a black seal on the back of her neck, just under the back of her shirt. Suddenly, it clicked.

_"Where's the puppetmaster? Is this that damned snake's work?"_ Sakura thought frantically, trying to think of just where Madara's vessel, or her teacher's old friend, could be. _"Where is that son of a bitch traitor?!"_

Just as Mikoto opened her mouth to say something, the palace rumbled and shook to its foundations as a loud explosion rocked the west wing.

* * *

Sasuke was hurrying back to Shien's room, a small handful of flowers in hand. He wanted to apologize for leaving her out to dry the night before. He felt guilty that he'd even thought about shouting at her for mentioning Sakura - tensions were already high, and she certainly didn't need him making her feel worse about it.

Just as he turned the corner, he bumped into a stranger wearing a dark cloak.

"Excuse me, young sir," the stranger's voice lilted in a deep tone. He didn't even look at the young prince as he moved to pass him.

"You can't just bump into me without apologizing, sir." Sasuke sternly reprimanded, turning to stare at his back. "State your name and I...-"

As soon as he spoke, the stranger turned, and he could see a faint blood-red pair of eyes staring back at him. The moment he noticed the black ponytail spilling out from under the hood and realized who he'd ran into, an explosion wracked the entire building down the hall, smoke billowing into the hallway as he was momentarily thrown to the ground from the blast.

In one move, his head smacked against the marble and his eyes were rolling into the back of his head, the blinding pain fading away just as quickly as the vision of Itachi did from his eyes. He reached out for him, his brother's name on his lips, before everything went black.

* * *

**A/N: The beginning of the end.**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	54. Chapter 53

**A/N: A shorter bridge chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 53: Storming the Palace_

* * *

The rebel soldiers swarmed the castle almost immediately after the blast, Kakashi barking orders. "Secure the exits! Subdue any and all soldiers! Get them out of there!"

"Sir yes sir!" His men and women responded, leaping into action.

War cries and the clashing of weapons echoed through the great hall within only a few minutes.

Through the chaos, Temari, along with Sasori and Kakuzu, raced through the halls to the dungeon. They soon made it into the basement area and searched for the dark cells.

"Deidara!" Sasori called as soon as they found the blond, lying limply in his cell. He gripped the bars tightly with a glare. "You brat, if you don't answer me I'm going to replace your clay with play-doh!"

The blond flinched at the sharp tone and slowly rose his head, squinting. "... Sa... sori? You..."

"Kakuzu, that you?" Hidan's voice exclaimed from further down the hall. "Rescue me already, you slow hermit son of a bitch!"

"Calm down, you flapping ape, we're making our way to you." Kakuzu growled, glancing to the end of the hall as someone's leg emerged. "We've got company, Sasori."

Temari gasped sharply as Mikoto walked into view, her body slumped forward, as if being controlled by Sasori's chakra strings. "Wh- what-?!"

Said puppeteer sneered. "How tasteless. Her controller should be close by. We just need to subdue her long enough to sniff them out..."

"I must become the wolf to protect the herd," she was mumbling in a broken monotone, her lightless eyes hyperfocused on the puppeteer in particular. She reached down, nearly tipping over, and grabbed a poison senbon from a hidden thigh holster in a slit in her skirts and flung it at them almost mechanically, too rigid to be human.

The three of them dodged, and the senbon embedded themselves in the wall. Quicker than they could properly react, Mikoto pulled out a sword from the decorated black sheath hanging firmly from the obi of her yukata and leapt at them, determined to impale them.

Sasori clucked his tongue at her and threw her out of the way with chakra strings, making her body slam into the wall.

She crumpled almost lifelessly to the floor, resting for a brief moment before slowly getting to her feet again.

"What the hell_ is_ she?!" Temari shrieked, drawing a kunai knife from her bag when the woman's eyes glinted with murderous intent.

"She's being controlled," Sasori flatly answered, as if it wasn't already painfully obvious to the trio. "See the seal under her shirt collar?"

Temari squinted, and when the woman prepared to attack, her collar slipped a few inches and, sure enough, there was an inky-black seal surrounded painfully by reddened, raised skin. It looked as if she'd been stung by a scorpion, or perhaps bitten by a snake.

"Hold her there," Kakuzu ordered. "We can't release it ourselves, but we can incapacitate her until we can do as ordered."

She slackened under the chakra strings until Temari got close enough, to which she threw her body forward, the sword driving cleanly through Temari's side.

The blonde let out a scream as she fell back, her hands immediately flying to the gaping wound and to cover the exposed skin. The blood was already seeping through her torn shirt, and she looked up helplessly as Sasori caught a poisoned senbon mid-throw. The cold of the dungeon made her shiver, and for a brief second she wondered if the blade was laced with poison.

As he tossed it away, his eyes narrowed when the tip pricked through a gap in his wooden fingers. A thin, clear liquid began to seep through a flat edge of the blade. Had he been fully human still... He shook his head at it before tossing it aside, sending Kakuzu a quick tight-lipped frown.

"That's enough from you, Uchiha." He turned when he heard the quiet swishing of Mikoto's skirts and knocked her out with a fist. He bound her arms tightly at her back with the chakra strings, carrying her to an open cell.

Kakuzu helped him chain her to the wall, and they placed a seal over her chakra before locking the door behind them.

Kakuzu knelt beside Temari, whose eyes were slipping shut from exhaustion. Her entire face was damp with a cold sweat, and she was beginning to tremble slightly.

He nearly swore aloud. _"I don't have much time before she falls unconscious... dammit! What did that woman lace these with?! Even Sasori seems..."_

"Don't faint," he ordered, pinching her arm to wake her. "I can sew the wound shut long enough to get you to medical."

She nodded woozily and watched as he began to work. She winced when he jabbed at her side with a needle before looking away, her stomach lurching in warning.

Meanwhile, Sasori managed to break open the doors and let Deidara hang off of his shoulder, Hidan steadying himself against the wall. His legs were bent and twisted out of shape, and if you looked you could see splinters of bone poking out through his shin. Every step he groaned in pain at (although he seemed to be just as pleasured by it... the gross pervert).

"They broke his legs," Deidara was saying, grinning despite his split lip. "They broke my arms."

"We'll get you to medical, then," Sasori replied in a bored tone despite his irritation, gripping his incapacitated partner's shoulder tight. "Let's get moving. The sooner you're healed, the less helpless you'll be in the battle to come."

* * *

**A/N: I honestly can't believe it's been a year already. Time really flies, huh? Luckily, we don't have much farther to go. Thank you all for supporting this book! It truly pleases me to see just how many of you keep coming back and telling me what you think of it.**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	55. Chapter 54

**A/N: Hoo boy, this chapter hurts. Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 53: Incarnation of Indra_

* * *

"SASUKE!" Sakura was screaming, racing through the damaged halls and swerving past debris in the smoky chaos. "Sasuke, where are you? We need to get outta here! SASUKE!"

She skidded around a corner, into the open doorway onto a balcony leading to the heavily-gutted west towers. A choked gasp escaped her lips as she spotted Sasuke running to her, only for her vision to go black as she passed out into someone's arms.

* * *

Sasuke's heart leapt at the sound of Shien's voice, and he ran towards the hallway he'd heard her. "Shien! Where are you?"

As soon as he turned a corner, he skidded to a halt in shock.

Sasuke stopped a few feet away from a tall masked figure, right as Shien tripped and fell into his grasp. A bright light seemed to explode from her body and temporarily blinded him for a few seconds before he was able to look back to them, only to stop in his tracks.

Shien- no, _Sakura_.

Her hair was a more coral-pink than it had been before, and he caught sight of a painfully-familiar tattoo on her upper right arm... the mark of Riot. No. **No**.

Memories began to flash through his mind as his fists clenched and shook.

_"Sasuke-kun, where ya going? Aren't we playing?"_

_A bubbly little girl._

_"Sasuke-kun, your momma made cookies! C'mon so we can eat 'em! Naruto's already down there!"_

_A cheerful grin. One that made his heart do flips._

_"Sasuke-kun, I really like you!"_

_The girl who gave him kisses when he fell._

_"Sasuke-kun... I- I have to go... my father has been dismissed from the royal court-"_

_A scrawny, solemn girl with long matted hair._

_"Dear Sasuke, by the time you read this letter, I will be gone. I'm sorry, but this is something I must do-"_

_He could hear her anguished voice calling out to him..._

_"SASUKE! SASUKE, WHERE ARE YOU?!"_

_Blood._

_Blood and pink-blonde hair._

_Lifeless._

_The river._

_A neck stained in purple and black._

_Dead._

_Dead._

_Dead...?_

Something snapped.

He threw his head back with an ear-splitting scream, his entire body being engulfed in a malevolent purple aura.

Explosions of flame propelled from every corner around his body, and if the masked man hadn't jumped out of the way he and Sakura would have been burnt to ashes.

Tears dribbled down his cheeks as her voice echoed, scared and lost, in his mind.

_"Sasuke, wake up! Wake up!"_

_"Sasuke!-"_

_"Sasu-"_

"**SAAAAAAAAAAKURAAAAAAAAAA**!" He screamed, leveling a look of pure rage at the masked man.

He felt something rip open within him and his vision was _burningbloodyredscreamingRAGE_.

Suddenly, he felt more power than he'd ever dreamt of in his whole life, coursing through his veins and pulsing in time with his pounding heart. It felt better than any orgasm, and he fought the urge to moan aloud when he felt the seductive thrum of the chakra mingling with his.

He felt incredible.

With a loud war cry, he leapt at the man (who had dropped Sakura's unconscious body on the ground near them).

With one kick, he landed his foot right on the shinobi's neck, sending him flying into the far wall. He managed to dodge just in time and his feet skidded across the marble floor.

The mask seemed to taunt him, the glowing ruby eye smirking at him from inside.

"Who would have known that _this _was all it took to unleash the forbidden chakra of Indra?" The man laughed malevolently, his voice rough and distantly familiar. "You wish to fight me, don't you, Sasuke? Well then, let's fight. Unlucky for you, you won't be walking away from this!"

With that, the masked man blew a long tongue of fire at him. He barely dodged out of the way before he was being smacked to the ground, his head hitting the floor painfully once more as he got his ass handed to him.

Once the mysterious shinobi was satisfied with the ass-kicking, he disappeared in a plume of smoke as another explosion rocked the palace.

"Sa- Sakura," Sasuke hissed through clenched teeth. "Why?"

He clenched his fists together and yelled. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?"

"I trusted you!" He shouted at her, not noticing as she slowly came to. "I loved you! I thought that Riot had killed you, and now I find out that you've been alive and with those damned rebels this whole time?! _How could you betray me like this_?"

"Sas...uke..." she weakly muttered, reaching for him.

He glared at her through watery eyes, the Mangekyou swirling angrily in a sea of blood red.

"Your... eyes...!" She gasped, struggling to sit up. "We need to get out of here, there's no time...!"

"You can leave, if you want," he coldly spat as he got to his feet, wiping his moist eyes with his sleeve. He glared after the direction that the masked man went. "I am staying here and I am taking my revenge _once and for all_."

Just as she was about to argue, they heard Naruto groaning as he walked out into the sunlight. Both swiveled around to stare at him as he confusedly blinked.

"Sasuke? Your eyes are... really weird, man," he mumbled before turning to Sakura.

He stopped. He rubbed his eyes. He stared at her in shock.

"Sakura?" He whispered in disbelief. "Is that you? Are you here?"

"I'm... alive," she grinned sheepishly, raising her arms. "Ta-da?"

"She's a traitor, a part of Riot," Sasuke snapped, glaring down at her. "She was Shien this whole time, in order to assassinate us."

"You _what_? Sakura, that's not true, is it?" Naruto pleaded, hurt. "You wouldn't do that! You wouldn't... you couldn't kill us!"

"I could never," she agreed, gritting her teeth as she got to her knees. "I- I love you."

"Your words mean _nothing_, you filthy imitation," Sasuke's voice was laced with venom.

Naruto darted to her side and helped her to her feet, allowing her to hang off of his shoulder.

Sasuke regarded them with anger. "So you're taking a traitor's side, dobe?"

"I'm angry right now, Sasuke," Naruto replied far-too-calmly. Only a hint of his inner rage escaped through his chakra, which flared up at the mention, a burst of scarlet red in their minds. "_Really fucking livid_ right now, actually. We all thought Sakura was dead, and now the truth pops out that she's a rebel traitor. Yeah. I'm hurt."

Before Sakura could open her mouth to defend herself, he cut her off. "But that isn't the point right now. Right now we should be worrying about that masked man. He's... controlling your mom somehow. He was working with the Snake the whole time to use us as vessels to revive Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha to take over the entire world."

"_What_?" Both of them stared at him in horror.

"How'd you find this out?" Sakura demanded. "The Snake is _here_?"

"He was," Naruto replied quickly. "I heard them talking before they knocked me out again. The queen was sent to take care of the Akatsuki."

"Oh no... Deidara! Hidan!" She cried. "Naruto, we need to get out of here. We need to get to safety. I know a safe-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, who said I trusted you?" He coolly interrupted, frowning at her in disappointment. "The only reason I'm not blasting you to kingdom come with my Rasengan is because you were my closest friend. I've loved you for sixteen years and I'll be damned if I just throw that away because we all got tangled into messy adult politics."

Sasuke's glare made her look down, ashamed. "I'm... so sorry, Naruto... I was on my way to explain everything, but that man knocked me out before I could."

He sighed heavily. For a moment, he stared at her. When she looked up into his cerulean eyes, he smiled and gave her a tight hug.

"While I don't fully trust you anymore, I trust you enough to listen to what you have to say." He said, clapping Sasuke on the shoulder. "We're a team, remember? Dai-Nana-Han?"

"That was years ago," Sasuke seethed, throwing the hand off of his shoulder. "We don't have time for stupid roleplaying. This is a fucking _war_."

"Sasuke," Sakura began, her voice raising in anger. "Do you even _hear_ yourself? Do you _know_ just how much I went through to keep you safe?"

"Do you realize just how much your little _publicity stunt_ affected me? Naruto? My _family_?" He shouted back, frustrated, bloody tears trickling down his cheeks and staining the collar of his shirt a bright ruby. "I spent months- no, _years_ mourning your death! I thought I could never love anyone again! But just when I get a little bit of hope back- just when I think my heart is healed enough to love another girl, then you rip it away from me and leave a black hole in its place!"

She stepped back, stunned.

"But no, you never think about these things!" He continued to scream. His fists clenched dangerously, the mirror-wheels spinning more rapidly now. "You have no idea what a rollercoaster my life has been! I've lost more than half of my immediate family to whoever the fuck we're chasing is! Going through every day, hoping that you aren't the target for assassination because you might have unknowingly did something to anger some masked psycho that lives in the towers? Yeah, _THAT'S FUCKING STRESSFUL_! The day you made me think you got yourself killed, I unlocked the fucking Sharingan! I get horrific nightmares every other night, and I can't even confide in my own father about it because it's not 'the Uchiha way'! I can't eat! I can't sleep! I'm forced to relieve my greatest failures over and over again! You may think you've got a miserable life, but this curse is killing me FASTER THAN YOU EVER COULD!"

"Sasuke, that's enough!" Naruto barked, slapping him hard enough to wrench his head around. "We can talk out our feelings later. For now, we need to escape!"

He stood stock-still for a few moments, with an aura as dangerous as a hungry leopard. His haunches were raised, his nostrils flaring with every breath he took. For a tense few moments, she was afraid that he would attack her with his new eyes.

Finally, he gave a terse nod. "_Fine_. I'm only doing this for the Sakura I love. You try _anything_, I don't care who you are anymore, _I'm killing you on the spot_."

"That's... kinda the spirit!" Naruto grinned, bringing them together with an arm slung around each shoulder. "So what's the plan? How we getting outta here?"

Sakura looked around, seeing a familiar face in the gardens below. Ruby eyes glinted in the sunlight up at her, and she smiled. "I have a way."

* * *

**A/N: Very emotionally charged, but don't you worry, the next chapter's gonna be worse! :)**

**And guess what? This is my first fic to breech 100K words! Thank you all for being there with me to reach this milestone! As a hint of things to come, there's a certain remake that will be appearing sometime next year on my Ao3 account that will get even longer... and already, I've got at least 100 chapters planned for it! I'm so excited to finally get going on it, and I hope you'll like it too!**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	56. Chapter 55

**A/N: SURPRISE! I can't stop hurting these fictional babes! Enjoy the pain!**

* * *

_Chapter 55: To Obito, With All of My Love_

* * *

"We lost Naruto." Rin's eyes anxiously darted back and forth for any sign of the patriarch. "Where's that damned Uchiha?"

"He's near," Kakashi warned, flipping up his headband to reveal Obito's eye. "Be on your guard."

"Be on your guard indeed," Fugaku's voice came from the smoky hallway in front of them. Faster than Rin could react, a kunai was sent flying towards her body. Had Kakashi not pulled her away in time, she would have been skewered through the chest.

Anger bloomed through her chest as she turned to glower at his shadowy figure before them. Her fists clenched at her sides, trembling with rage. Obito's happy face flashed through her mind.

Kakashi glared at the calm king, readying his weapons. "We meet again, Fugaku."

"Hatake," Fugaku greeted almost boredly. "I hadn't the slightest inkling that you'd betrayed us. It's a pity I have to kill you."

"You'll never get the chance, you son of a bitch," Rin snarled, cracking her knuckles.

"Oh? And who might you be?" The king's dark eyes shifted to her, then widened. "Wait, could it be...?!"

"It's a pity," she mocked, strapping her gloves tighter, "I have to kill my dear uncle-in-law."

"Rin? _Rin Nohara_?" He gasped, his face blanching for a second. "But- but _how_? You died!"

"I lived," she corrected, squaring her shoulders and regarding him with a raised chin. "Unluckily for you, I've come back to finish what we should have long ago!"

"I can't- I can't kill you," he tried to explain, kneeling where he was. "If I harm you, then he'll...-"

"_He_? Who's he? _Madara_?" Rin challenged, taking a step forward. "You think I'm scared of the husk of a dead man, Fugaku? You took my best friend away from me! I'm pretty sure facing a coward's puppet is way easier than that!"

"Please don't do this," he pleaded quietly, staring at her with his eyes activated. If one looked closely, they could see the tears dotting the crimson.

"Perhaps I'll give the queen a taste of what it feels like to lose your soulmate far too soon!" She yelled, charging up a chakra-laden fist and charging at him.

He clenched his eyes shut and bowed his head, waiting for her to kill him.

"Rin, stop!" Kakashi shouted, yanking her back by her arms. "Don't kill him!"

"_AND WHY SHOULDN'T I KILL THE BASTARD THAT RUINED MY LIFE_?!" She screeched at him, twisting and writhing in his arms.

"Don't let your anger blind you, he's not the real target!" Kakashi argued. "I can feel the presence of the-"

In a split-second, figuratively cutting Kakashi off and very, very literally cutting off Fugaku, a sword appeared from seemingly nowhere and decapitated the king, sending his head flying towards the wall in a fountain of crimson blood.

Both Kakashi and Rin stopped in their tracks in abject horror at what they'd just witnessed.

The righteous, glowing-hot rage drained from her like the chakra scalpels from her fingertips, her hands hanging limply at her side. Her face blanched; had she not been desensitized to gore, her stomach would have rebelled against her. Even now, it churned uncomfortably at the fallen body.

"That's the problem with too many puppets," a deep voice drawled from the doorway of the chapel's back room, a man with a orange swirled mask stepping from the shadows. He grabbed the fallen sword and sheathed it again, not caring about the ribbons of Fugaku's blood that coated the silvery blade. "Eventually, the strings get too tangled to function, and you have to sever a few to keep playing."

He stopped short of the body, facing the two of them. Kakashi dropped Rin's arms and his eyes widened. His Mangekyou throbbed in unison with the masked man's visible one. _"No," _he thought in despair, clenching his fists. _"We... we were too late..."_

"Wh- what?" The man breathed in disbelief. He took a step backwards, as if Rin would jump at him. "Y- you... you're _alive_?"

"Okay, look, I dunno who the hell you are, but you just fucking _stole my kill_." Rin gestured broadly to the toppled body, whose blood was slowly creeping along the floor, her expression turning to stone as she glared at the figure, readying her stance. "I'm only going to give you once chance to answer before I fire: Who the hell are you?"

He stayed perfectly still.

Then he began to chuckle.

It started low, but gradually it grew in volume until he was howling with laughter, his head raised to the ceiling as his mad cackling echoed around the chapel.

Once his fit had subsided, he reached out to the duo.

"Don't you remember me?" He growled, amusement coating his voice. "After all, you only have half of my pair of eyes... _old friend_."

...

Wait, what?

He didn't mean...

Rin's head jerked around to stare, horrified, at Kakashi, who was rooted in his spot in despair.

"N- no," he denied, his fists clenched. "No, it's impossible. He died in the explosion, you're not him! I WATCHED OBITO DIE IN MY ARMS! _YOU'RE NOT HIM_! IMPOSTOR!"

"Am I?" His voice was dangerously lilting, sing-song even as he reached up to grab the bottom of the mask. "Am I really?"

As he slipped the mask off of his face, all color drained from Rin's.

The kunai she was gripping fell, clattering, to the ground.

Her heart skipped a beat, then began to pick up the pace until it was pounding against her ribcage, as if trying to break free to join her figurative heart already shattered on the floor in a thousand unfixable shards.

"H- huh?" She breathed numbly, her eyes wide at the imposing figure before them.

An older, scarred face, a familiar face, smirked back at them. Mismatched eyes, one blood red and the other a ringed pale pearl, flashed in the light.

"My dear, sweet, beautiful bride," he cooed, reaching for Rin. "It appears you're not the only one to have been brought back from the dead!"

Her legs began to shake. She tried to will them to move, but her body wasn't responding.

Beside her, Kakashi brushed the tears from his eyes, let out a cry of anguish, and darted forward to attack.

The Uchiha's eyes widened a fraction before they narrowed dangerously.

"You absolute fool!" Obito seethed, striking Kakashi down with one swipe of his leg.

The gray-haired nin wheezed as he hit the ground hard, before Obito stomped down on his ribs. His screams echoed around the room, and Rin couldn't even tear her eyes away.

Her breathing was harsh, ragged, and it was difficult to find the air to take into her lungs.

_"I'm- I'm having a panic attack,"_ she weakly recognized. She tried to will enough strength to move her hand, but she failed. _"C'mon, get a grip!"_

"You promised me!" Obito roared, bringing his foot down once more. Another sickening crack was heard, and Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut and screamed, his throat raw from the effort. "You promised me that you would protect her!"

"P- please," Kakashi whispered hoarsely, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I t- tried-"

"YOU MADE HER JUMP OFF A CLIFF!" Obito's voice hardly sounded like his own anymore. It came out as a demonic, guttural growl as he lifted Kakashi from the ground by the collar of his shirt. His sword was in his hand again, poised at the man's abdomen.

"You took her away from me that day," the man snarled, harshly prodding at Kakashi's midsection in emphasis. "Now it's time to take back what's mine!"

Kakashi choked on his gasps of air. "O- Obi- to- please...!"

A droplet of sweat slid down her face. Every worst nightmare she'd ever had suddenly came rushing back to her, and she could hardly recognize the man in front of her in her abject consternation.

_"This... this man isn't my husband... this isn't Obito!"_

Just as Obito was about to plunge the sword into Kakashi's stomach, Rin found her voice and called out. "Darling!"

Beat.

He froze, and both men turned their heads slowly to see her approaching.

A disarming smile was on her face, her arms outstretched.

"Obito, sweetheart, please let him go." She pouted at him, wrapping her arms around his. "We can escape this palace _together_, don't you see? You don't have to kill Hatake!"

"Rin, oh Rin," he mumbled, his eyes glazing over as he dropped Kakashi unceremoniously to the ground. He ignored the cry of pain as he scooped her into his arms. He stroked her cheek with his hand, taking in her appearance as if she were water in the desert. "You have no idea how long I've been dreaming of this moment."

"As have I," she sweetly replied, her eyes half-lidded as she took in his face. Even though it was marred and aged, she could still see what remained of Obito, her Obito, underneath. "Please, enlighten me to your desires. I want to feel you close to me again."

"You don't mind my hideous body?" He asked, self-loathing twisting his face into a frown.

Her heart ached at that, and she tenderly caressed his scarred half with a crooning, "Of course I don't mind! You're still the man I love, Obi. I would love you even if you were disfigured and limbless."

He looked like he was going to break down for a moment before he rested his forehead against hers. Her eyes trailed over to Kakashi and she made a signal with her hand behind Obito's back.

Kakashi weakly nodded and struggled to get up quietly.

"Rin, my Rin," he murmured, pressing his face into the crook of her neck. "So many nights have I dreamt of you... holding you, touching you, kissing you..."

This man made a pang of sadness course through her body. No matter how much he looked like Obito, sounded like him, even _fought_ like him, the boy she'd fallen in love with, the man she married, was gone. The only thing left was this soulless husk that desecrated his memory more and more with each trembling breath he took. She wanted to believe this was her impish husband, with the boyish grin he often got when teasing her, or the way he and Kakashi could laugh together for hours. She wanted Obito back.

Nevertheless, she knew what had to be done. Her eyes grew misty for a split second before she willed the tears down.

"We are together once more," she implored, meeting his crazed eyes with her own. "Please remind me of how in love we were."

"I want nothing more," he replied, before leaning forward and kissing her desperately.

His lips melded to hers, his tongue prodding at her teeth. When she granted him access, it slipped into her mouth and found her own tongue, swirling around and around it in a sort of discordant tango.

She could feel his chakra, siphoned from his core through her fingertips, and the darkness that shrouded it made her shiver with fear. He took that as a shiver of delight and gently cradled the back of her head in his hand, his gloved fingers threading through her soft brown hair. This... this _madness_ that perverted his chakra... Her stomach swirled with nausea, and she fought the urge to vomit. It was too much to bear. Dark memories fluttered through her mind's eye, memories that weren't her own. What had he gone through in the past seven years to distort his mind in such a way?

Her throat began feeling constricted by emotion, and she felt a tear slip down her cheek.

His guard was down. As exhausting as it was to sap away his chakra, she could feel his reserves growing low. It was the perfect opportunity.

_"I'm sorry, Obito, my darling..."_

The second she felt something heavy in her hand she reached around and speared him through the back, the blade poking through the front of his cloak. She had taken to carefully siphoning in minuscule amounts so that he wouldn't notice in time. Now that he only had a third of it left, she took what else she could as she kissed him hard.

He gagged and choked against her mouth, his scream of agony muffled by her lips. A dark mist seeped from his nostrils as he tried to breathe. He ripped away from her and it expelled from his mouth like smoke, his eyes darkening in rage for a second before she cupped his cheek.

Her eyes were watery and though she smiled, it didn't reach them. "Obito..."

"Rin..." he choked, grasping her face desperately. "Wh- _why_...?!"

"Forgive me, my love." She took in a shuddering breath. "I had no other way to stop you."

"We could've been happy!" Obito protested, clenching his teeth as a new wave of pain ripped through his body. "We could have escaped this foul place. We could have settled down... had a family together...! We could finally have a son!"

She let out a laugh at the bitter irony, but it sounded more akin to a sob.

"For seven long, miserable years have I mourned your loss, my love," she cooed, stroking his shaggy, black hair. "There was nothing I wanted more than to have you back in my arms again."

She tugged the necklace from under her shirt, showing him with a teary grin. "See? I kept your present."

"The necklace..." he gasped, gingerly taking the strand of stones in his trembling fingers. "I had no idea that you'd..."

"Please do not forget, Obi," she pleaded, grasping his hand tight in hers. "I love you with all my heart."

"My life is incomplete... without you," his voice was hitched. The blood that soaked through his clothes had begun to stain the front of her shirt, but she didn't care. "You are my... only light in this world..."

"And you are my one true love," she pledged, letting out a small sob as she wiped away some of her tears.

Kakashi placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, gazing at Obito's dying body with sad eyes.

"Ka- kashi," Obito gasped, grinning weakly at his old friend. "I don't- blame you for what happened..."

"I'm so sorry," he murmured, gripping the man's shoulder. "I never wanted it to end like this."

"You... think I did, either?" Obito chuckled painfully. "Please, Ba- k-kashi, take care of... Rin... for real this time..."

"I promise, I'll never let harm come to her again." He pledged firmly, nodding to Rin as she wept quietly. "You have my word. Not as a comrade, but as a- as a brother."

"Rin..." Obito was fading fast, a tired smile on his face as he pressed his lips to her knuckles. "I... love you... always..."

"Always and forevermore," she recited, taking his head in her hands as his eyes slowly fluttered shut.

When his hand fell limp at his side and the breath left his agape lips did she break.

She lost track of how long she spent on the cold floor, shrieking wails bouncing off of the walls as Kakashi held her, her husband lying cold in her arms.

She chanted his name like a prayer to the gods, hysterically clutching as his face and hiding her face in his chest.

She'd lost Obito again.

Somehow, this time it hurt even worse.

* * *

**A/N: HOLY SHIT I bawled writing this. For those of you who figured it out, good job! It was Obito the whole time. I hope I didn't make it too painfully obvious.**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week for the grand finale of this arc!**


	57. Chapter 56

**A/N: The last of the 'Operation Wedding Crasher' chapters! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 56: A Surprising Foe_

* * *

"Where the hell are they?" Jiraiya muttered to himself as he wandered with Tsunade through the side gardens. "Did they manage to escape with the Akatsuki?"

"Kami-sama, I hope so," she groaned. "Who knows where that bastard could be hiding."

"My my my, what a reunion!" A smooth, sultry voice made them turn, only to see a pale-white man with long black hair and reptillian gold eyes.

"Orochimaru," Tsunade greeted in shock. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"All a part of dear old '_Madara_'s plan," he explained with a chuckle. "Except I'm taking his prize out from under his nose - he won't reincarnate Madara Uchiha if I get to little Prince Sasuke first!"

"What of Madara Uchiha?" Jiraiya demanded. "Why would he try that barbaric technique? I thought the knowledge was sealed away with the honorable Tobirama's death!"

"That's what you were led to believe," Orochimaru hissed as he summoned a snake from his mouth. "Anyway, it's a shame that I have to cut this short by killing you here, but I've got a new vessel to take."

"The hell you will!" Tsunade growled, raising her hands.

The seal on her forehead began to glow, and slowly, black lines began to wrap around her body from her face down to her ankles.

She smirked at Jiraiya, nodded to him, and tossed him her travelling cloak.

"Hold my coat," she instructed, before jumping at Orochimaru.

He was stunned for a moment, before he barked a laugh.

"Kick his ass, baby girl! I've got your coat," he cheered, as she landed her first hit.

* * *

"Halt!" Sasuke ordered as a band of eleven guards rushed to them. "State your business!"

The leader stepped forward, grinning at the teenager.

"Show's over, kids," he drawled, spitting out his cigarette and grinding it into the grass with his shoe. "I've got orders from the queen to round you up by any means necessary, although if you ask me, I'd prefer dead than alive."

Naruto growled, smacking his fist into his palm. "You messed with the wrong people then! We're gonna kick your ass seven ways to Sunday!"

"Don't try anything rash," Sakura warned, getting into a battle stance.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, activating the Sharingan. "Stay back, unless you wanna be in the splash zone."

His cold tone hit her harder than she expected, and she winced back as one of the guards took a peek at her.

"Hey, I know you!" She exclaimed, her eyes lighting up in recognition. "You're that girl that was summoned to the king's private rooms! Shame that we have to meet again in battle, but honestly... it doesn't matter enough to me now."

In an instant the warm look on the older woman's face disappeared, and as Naruto and Sasuke leapt forward, one of the guards dodged out of the way and rapidly threw handsigns before slapping Sasuke's forehead as the boy ran at him. Almost immediately, a black mark appeared and he fell to the ground yelling in pain.

"What did you do?!" Naruto roared, throwing a punch at the back of the man's head.

"Would you relax a little, kid?" He snarled back, dodging to the side and just as swiftly kneed him in the stomach, sending him to the ground with a pained wheeze. "You're actin' like I killed him! Heh, not yet. Just sealed up that malicious chakra so that we can have an easier time with you two."

He paused, before whirling around, leg raised. "Starting with the prince!"

With one swift move, he kicked the boy so hard he flew into the wall, crumpling against it with a scream. He fell to the ground in an agonized pile, and as Naruto watched his best friend's blood begin trickling down his face, the blond snapped.

He shrieked as loudly as his voice could allow, the sound becoming guttural as he dashed at the guards, already priming his hands. As he made the handseals for a cloning technique, one of the guards countered with a tongue of fire from her mouth, her eyes lighting up in malicious delight as she watched half of the clones disappear in a cloud of smoke.

Not easily deterred, Naruto shouted "Rasengan!" and leapt at another. The guard threw a punch that connected with a sick crack on the side of his cheek, sending him flying back. The Rasengan dissipated in his hands, and he made a pained moan as he struggled to sit up.

Sakura gasped sharply as Sasuke staggered to his feet, dazedly wiping the blood from his nose with his sleeve. He shot her a look as she took a step forward, to which she faltered.

"Don't interfere," he shouted as he braced himself against the palace wall. "Leave them to me!"

"You're gonna get yourself killed!" She argued back, clenching her fist.

He didn't reply, merely giving a sardonic smile as he threw a punch at the next guard that ran at him. He succeeded in cuffing the guy clean in the jaw, sending him to the grass. He stomped down on the guy's helmet for good measure, relishing in the dull clang it made as it dented heavily under his weight.

"Even without my chakra, I can still kick your ass," he commented dryly. "I hate to speak ill of Father, but if this is his best, I worry for what our future could have been."

"Believe me, Prince, you'll have more to worry about in a second." The leader chuckled, jumping at him with a layer of chakra about his hand. It was all too familiar to Sakura, and she gasped aloud.

_"What the hell... that's a technique I've only seen mednins use! Does that mean...?!"_

"He's using his chakra as a sword!" She shouted. "Be careful you don't touch it!"

"Didn't have to tell us that," Sasuke snapped as he ducked. The chakra skimmed the top of his hair and he grit his teeth when he saw a couple of strands fall to the grass.

Naruto grunted as he got up. He spared a glance at the girl. "Sorry, Sakura... I'd like it better if you didn't interfere."

"I won't sit idly by while you get your asses kicked!" She protested as another guard threw a punch at them. He was quickly subdued by a kick to the chest, to which he flew into the wall, hit his head, and fell unconscious.

"You fight, and I banish you," Sasuke threatened half-heartedly as he sustained a kick to his hip. He grunted in pain, holding his injured left arm.

"You can't banish someone if you've got no throne," Naruto joked, ducking under a punch and delivering an uppercut to the jaw. Another guard down.

"Not the time!" The Uchiha retorted as the guard wound up his arm. The man threw a punch, and Sasuke braced himself for the inevitable pain.

Instead, Sakura threw herself forward, catching the fist with her hand. She glared hatefully into his sneering face and pumped chakra into her hand as she clenched it.

Naruto and Sasuke watched in shock as the guard went down screaming, the bones in his hand shattered. He cradled his broken hand to his chest and hissed, "You- little- bitch!"

"I've heard worse," she coldly replied, jumping up and delivering a groundbreaking punch to the grass.

Almost immediately, the shockwave sent the group stumbling back, and Sasuke braced himself against the palace wall as she stood there, watching as the guard was knocked out.

"You've got seven left!" She called out. "For the record, I'm not gonna hesitate to save you from cheap tricks like that, so banish me all you'd like."

With a wry smile, she leapt out of the way, putting up a barrier around herself as she watched the fighting. She healed the minor scrapes on her knuckles and watched on as Naruto, filled with new vigor, let out a victorious shout and slammed down onto a guard's head, kicking them to the ground. Six.

Sasuke took a moment, staring at the fallen guard. Then, slowly, he turned his head to her and gave her a grin. A genuine warmth lit up his eyes as they made eye-contact.

"... It's good to have you back, Sakura." He said before turning back to the horde. As soon as he locked eyes with the leader (suddenly two feet away), he was kicked in the face, sending him back against the wall with a gut-twisting crack. His head slammed against it, and he was out cold on the ground in only two seconds.

"_SASUKE_!" Sakura screamed. She dropped the barrier and ran to his side. She picked up his head from the ground and was horrified to touch the back of his head and recoil at the stickiness. She pulled her fingers away and saw faint red splotches on her fingers. Her stomach churned with nausea.

"Sasuke?!" Naruto gasped, turning only to get whacked by a spear.

"Don't let your guard down!" The guard crowed, thrusting it forward.

Naruto barely dodged the blade and jumped away.

"No no no no no," she chanted, shaking him. "C'mon Sasuke, wake up!"

He remained down even as she lay his head on her knees. His face was blank, almost peaceful, but she didn't want to think of what she would do if he'd one-hit-killed himself.

She hovered her hands over his head and probed with medical chakra, searching. When she found no internal bleeding, she sighed in relief. But then her dread returned when she realized that he could've had another brain injury.

_"With a blow to the head like that, I'd be hard-pressed to believe otherwise," _she thought to herself worriedly. With a moan of anguish, she gently lay his head on the grass and pulled up a barrier around his unconscious form. She stepped away, wiping off some of the residual blood on her shorts and cracking her knuckles.

When one ran to her, she panicked, wasting no time in delivering a sucker-punch straight to his nose, supposedly breaking it on impact. He shrieked in pain as she turned, bringing up her leg to kick him in the side of the neck, the man flying to the side.

She stared down at her hand, which had a redness on her knuckles from where she'd hit. She flexed it twice before slowly looking up again. She grit her teeth, narrowing her eyes at them.

Naruto was battling his wounds and the guards, each hit from him costing him two of theirs. Still he didn't falter, his face twisted in rage.

She clenched her fists. Whenever the fighting happened, she'd always been left on the sidelines. Tsunade had recited the rules of being a medic nin to her once, and it had sparked a hatred for them that never rested.

_"It's always me who has to stand and watch others save the day...!" _She growled to herself. _"I can't just watch while Naruto and Sasuke go down fighting to save me... not after all I've done!"_

She felt her chakra spike in tandem with her emotions. It pulsed with the rising tears to her eyes. It shuddered when she clenched her teeth together.

_"I'm always the one hurting others! I'm always the one fucking everything up!"_

She felt something within her tightening, much like a coil. It almost felt akin to the buildup to an orgasm as it bubbled eagerly in her chest.

_"Because of me, Sasuke could be dying! This is all my fault!"_

Just a little more... She could feel something growing inside her, something that pushed against her bones and sang with the promise of power. If she could just push it a little further...!

_"Well I refuse to be the bad guy any longer! This time, I'LL be the one whose back they watch!"_

The coil snapped, and all at once a euphoric feeling overtook her whole body before receding into her forehead. It crashed against her body in waves, and she could feel it roar past her like the spray of an ocean mist. She clenched her fists and threw her head back, the air whipping about her as her chakra stirred the air to action. A rhombus, a glowing pale green as her medical chakra, was left, and the spike in her level (plus her scream of "_CHAAAAAAAA_!") caused the guards to look over, numb in terror.

Even Naruto, who was currently holding a guard by the collar of her shirt, turned to stare, dumbfounded, as she gathered power into her fists with an echoing chortle. "S- Sakura-chan...!"

She turned to give them a wide-eyed, manic grin. Her fists were clenched tightly, and a swirling fog of blue energy flickered about like the flames of a bonfire.

"Oh-ho YEAH!" She hollered in glee, smashing her fist at the ground. "_**C****HA-NA-ROOOOO!**_"

The ground exploded around her, sending shrapnel - and the guards with them - flying in all directions. It managed to miss both Sasuke and Naruto, the former of whom was still surprisingly unconscious.

Naruto blanched, his face shriveling up in abject horror. at what he was witnessing. _"Holy shit, holy fuck, I'm never back-talking Sakura-chan ever again. Wh- what is this power?!"_

She clenched her fist and smirked in satisfaction at the faint blue glow before turning to Sasuke's crumpled form. Her joy dissipated as she went to his side again. "Sasuke!"

She rushed to his side, willing medical chakra to her fingertips as she gently touched his forehead. "C'mon, wake up...!"

After a couple of seconds, he let out a low moan of pain, his eyes squinting in the sunlight. His forehead was hot to the touch, and as she suspected, his pupils looked unfocused.

When they shifted upwards, he caught sight of her relieved face. "Oh thank Kami-sama! I thought you'd sustained significant brain damage! Turns out you're most likely experiencing a concussion."

"Whaz...?" He slurred, looking around in bleary confusion and pain. "Did we... win?"

"We won," Naruto confirmed, walking over and doubling over as he panted for air. "You should've seen it, Teme! Sakura just freakin' Saitama'd the guards!"

Sasuke looked up again to see the diamond. He grinned weakly. "You... unlocked it, finally..."

She laughed shakily, brushing his bangs away from his face. "How'd you know about that...?"

"I told him," Naruto confided. "When I saw Granny Tsunade running around, I put two-and-two together."

"You're... really strong," Sasuke softly complimented, reaching up to touch the glowing diamond. His fingertips tapped gingerly against her skin, and she reached up to take his hand in hers.

For a long, tender moment, the two gazed into each other's eyes. His were gentle, with an almost childlike wonder as he smiled up at her. She hadn't truly seen him look at her - her, not her Shien persona - like that since they were innocent children.

Then, just as quickly as it happened, it was over, and she blinked.

"We need to get you two out of here," she suddenly remembered. Hooking her left arm under his knees and supporting his back with her right, she glanced over at Naruto. "You need help getting to the exit? I could always carry you both over my shoulder."

Naruto sweatdropped, laughing nervously with raised hands, "Ah- ha, uh no thank you, Sakura-chan. I can walk. I promise."

She eyed him suspiciously, but let it go and led him to the crumbled wall to the outside.

She heard faint yelling and perked up. "Oh, Tsunade!"

"Let's go!" Naruto cheered. "I haven't seen her in so long!"

They hurried around the corner to the courtyard, where they stopped short, dumbfounded at Tsunade sitting on Orochimaru's unconscious body, tying her leaf hitai-ate around her arm again.

"Lady Tsunade!" Sakura called out.

Tsunade whipped around, grinning at her. "Sakura, you made it! And with the prince and Naruto, too!"

Jiraiya held up a hand in greeting, grinning crookedly at the trio. "Long time no see, Naruto."

"Pervy Sage!" Naruto ran forward to hug him tight. "I haven't seen you since Mom and Dad!"

Jiraiya's eyes grew saddened for a few seconds at the memory before he laughed, finally noticing the way Sasuke was being carried. "Looks like you just couldn't wait to get hitched, eh? Here comes the bride!"

Sakura blinked before looking down and realizing. Sasuke was still out of it, blinking blearily and staring lazily at her.

Her face flushed red and she squeaked, handing him off to Tsunade to hide her mortification. "I- I- I-!"

"Geez, you could give Kushina a run for her money with that red face!" Jiraiya's laugh boomed. "Don't sweat it, kid, I'm just kidding."

"Don't joke about getting married yet, you lecher!" Sakura hissed at him, glaring half-heartedly through her beet-red face. "I just got my cover blown!"

"Ah yes, speaking of blown covers," Tsunade flatly chimed in, giving the Uchiha prince a dissatisfied frown. "We're gonna need to do something about our little interloper here. Any bright ideas besides late-stage regicide?"

* * *

**A/N: Only a few chapters left! Thank you for being so patient through my upload schedule.**

**Please tell me what you thought, and I'll see you next week!**


	58. Chapter 57

**A/N: Just three chapters after this, and we're done! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 57: Three Days Later_

* * *

The capital city had been in an uproar ever since the royal family had been overthrown.

Shortly after Orochimaru had retreated, the guard stationed in the dungeon with Mikoto reported that she instantly dropped dead the second her seal disappeared. It raised more questions than answers, but after a team discovered Obito's tower above the chapel, they found that she'd already been dead since before dawn.

Fugaku, of course, had been beheaded - and once they gave the couple a burial in the clan's sacred burial ground at the outskirts of the city, Tsunade declared herself a temporary ruler while they figured out just what the hell to do with the now-monarchless country. She named Jiraiya her chief advisor and quickly appointed several of her most trusted friends to be her council, headed by Shikamaru.

Rin immediately got to work at the hospital, hiring Sakura and Karin to assist her. Sakura had begun giving Ino lessons, and Karin quickly took to a bickering friendship with one of their injured, one Suigetsu, as he and another had been left behind when Orochimaru retreated. Adding to the number was Tsunade's estranged niece Shizune, who was quickly scooped up by the woman so that they could catch up for lost time. When it was discovered that she had medical prowess, she was tested by Rin before being put in one of the higher positions at the hospital.

Tsunade had been persuaded to allow Sasuke to live (despite her worries about his eyes) by several on her council (the nail in the coffin was, of course, Itachi's _persuasive essay _-ten pages long, complete with pictures in color - on why he of all people should be spared), instead relegating him to the hospital to recover from his injuries, and so that the staff could run some tests about his new Mangekyou. He didn't seem too displeased about this, only objecting to being poked and prodded with needles. Naruto was sent to the same ward, in the same room, so that he could heal up as well. Tsunade made sure to visit them every so often, and if she couldn't, she sent Karin.

The reunion between Naruto and Karin was emotional. He cried when she walked in, demanding answers as to why she would willingly hurt them. It didn't take long for her to start crying too, still sensitive from Hideki's passing. By the time Rin made time to come down and check on them, Karin was holed up at the end of Naruto's bed, telling them about some stories from her time at Morino, her eyes still red from the tears.

The runaways eventually returned to their families on the second day, which caused mixed emotions among them.

As Shikamaru had predicted, Yoshino Nara immediately got to work yelling at him, smacking him upside the head and hugging him tight. She scolded him between hiccuping breaths about worrying her, and when Shikaku joined in, she declared (only after learning that Ino was safe and here) that she was going to cook a feast to celebrate the teenagers coming back.

Ino's mother initially refused to see her, obviously still deeply hurt by her daughter's snub. But once the blonde showed up in the sitting room where she was, she collapsed into tears and begged her never to run away again, apologizing profusely all the while. She blubbered about how relieved she was to have Ino back. Inoichi came home to find his wife and daughter sobbing in each other's arms, and he joined them in the weeping pile.

Tenten and Lee were shocked to see Sakura again, alive, much less with Ino and Hinata. They shared a big group hug (and shed some tears) before they took Hinata back to her clan's compound. The moment fourteen-year-old Hanabi opened the door and took a look at her sister, she shrieked. Literally _shrieked_. It sent their father running, only for him to get to the door and see Hanabi crying hysterically, hugging Hinata tight.

For the several minutes it took to convince him that it wasn't just an impostor, Hinata explained everything that had happened. Once he realized that it really was her, he started to sob too, holding her in his arms and apologizing for everything.

The group stood there a little awkwardly, before Hiashi looked up and invited them all in for tea.

They spent the better part of an afternoon in the Hyuuga main branch manor, laughing and discussing plans for the future. Shikamaru had been appointed to bring Temari back to Sand, and Ino was tasked to help Sai (no last name given) begin a new life in the village. Hinata was content to go back to her clan duties (much to Hanabi's delight) and Tenten and Lee were planning to join their adoptive father in Tsunade's new division of the military. Sakura was training up with her new Byakugou, as well as assisting as head medical officer with Rin.

* * *

On the morning of the 23rd, Sakura bought an iris bouquet for Naruto and brought some onigiri for Sasuke (as well as a little blue candle).

She walked into the room where they were staying with a smile. "Hey, you two. It's someone's birthday today, isn't it?"

"Morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted with a grin. "Who're the flowers for?"

"You, silly." She laughed, setting the vase down on the table next to his bed. "In case you ever thought I hated you."

"Aw, I could never think that, Sakura-chan." He gave her a quick hug as she moved across the room.

"Happy birthday." She smiled at the injured boy and handed him the plate. "I heard you liked rice balls? I made some myself last night."

He looked up in surprise. "You remembered?"

"Of course I did! Why wouldn't I remember one of your favorites?" She was a bit taken aback, but she pulled out the candle and stuck it into the top of one of the balls, lighting it with a small lighter. "Anyway, I got special permission to light a candle for no more than ten seconds, so you'd better wish quick!"

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly and focused on the flickering flame for a few seconds. Then he gently blew out the flame, pulling out the candle and setting it aside.

"What'd ya wish for, teme?" Naruto asked.

"It won't come true if I say it out loud," Sasuke retorted before taking one of them. "... Thanks, Sakura."

She waited until he took a bite. His eyes widened a little further and he nodded to her. "These are... really tasty."

"Made 'em myself from an old recipe of Tsunade's," she explained proudly. "She always used to tell me how much she loved her grandmother's onigiri."

He hesitated, but set the ball back down on the plate and wiped his hands off with a napkin she handed him. "Listen, I'm... sorry for everything."

"What do you mean?" She rose an eyebrow.

"Everything," he repeated, waving his hand loosely. "F- for hurting you, and for not believing you sooner."

"What, when Obito revealed my identity?" She shook her head, chuckling a little. "I was expecting you to explode at me, to be honest. It's really no problem. I shouldn't have tricked you both in the first place."

"W- well, it's not like you were malicious or anything, right?" Naruto chimed in with a laugh. "Anything we felt for you was real, regardless of whether or not we knew who you were."

She turned to Sasuke with a shy little smile. "T- then... everything you said to me under the guise of Hayashi... did you mean them? Now?"

He looked down for a few moments in thought. Finally, he let out a little sigh and nodded his head.

"It hurt to realize that I had feelings for what was, essentially, a lie," he admitted. "But I was more hurt by the fact that you had faked your death than you defecting."

"I am really sorry about that," she apologized guiltily. "It wasn't my first choice, but I also didn't want anyone to try and find me."

She was quiet for a moment, before adding as an afterthought, "Besides, it was the perfect cover, wasn't it? Nobody would have ever suspected."

"True," he mused with a hum. "Even after I realized who you were, it still didn't sink in."

"Well, if it helps any," she paused, biting her lower lip before giving him a sweet smile, "after everything that happened, I still love you."

The boy nodded, a bit unfazed, but deep inside he was mulling it over.

"I'll- I'll give you as much time as you need," she promised, her shoulders sagging a bit. "I'm more than content to stay friends, if that's what you want."

He hummed in reply, closing his eyes.

Luckily for them, a knock at the doorway broke the awkward silence. They looked up to see Hinata, followed by Karin, holding flowers.

"Oh, Hinata!" Sakura greeted with a grin, crossing the room to hug her tight. "I didn't know you were visiting today!"

"J- just to see how they're doing," she explained, smiling over at her. "I brought flowers for Sasuke-san."

She peeked over, giving him a tiny wave. "Happy birthday, Sasuke-san."

"Thank you, Hinata." He looked up and nodded politely to her.

Hinata went red as she saw Naruto, and as she stepped in she rose a hand in greeting. "H- hello, Naruto-kun..."

"Hey Hinata!" He grinned up at her. "You doing okay?"

"Yes, I'm- I'm fine," she stiffly answered, setting the flower vase on Sasuke's bedside table before standing before the blond, hands clasped together. "Are you healing?"

Naruto looked a little dumbfounded at that question for a split second. Then he shrugged and laughed, "I hope so!"

"I'll leave you two alone," Sakura winked at the heiress before exiting.

* * *

**A/N: Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	59. Chapter 58

**A/N: Fudging a little bit on the lore here. Nevertheless, enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 58: Fresh Beginnings_

* * *

Only a few days later, Naruto and Sasuke were cleared from the hospital. Tsunade did one last check over both of them before sending them off.

Sakura was the one tasked with guiding them to their hotel rooms. For now, they would live there, until Tsunade and the council could come to a decision as to where to lodge them.

As soon as they were settled in, She left for a meetup with Shikamaru, leaving the brothers alone.

Naruto glanced over at Sasuke, who was standing at the mirror in the hall, checking his eyes.

"C'mon, you'll be fine as long as you don't go berserk again." He called, folding his arms behind his head. "Man your couch is comfortable!"

"Don't get too comfy," Sasuke retorted as he made his way over. He sat down next to the blond and made a noise of approval. "... Although you're right, this is nice."

"Right?" He grinned. "Hey, can you do that thing with your eyes again?"

Sasuke gave a long-suffering sigh, before turning his body to face Naruto and closing his eyes. When he opened them, his Sharingan was shining. He slowly switched to the Mangekyou, and Naruto breathed, "Whoa..."

"It's nothing special," he huffed, closing his eyes and reopening them, this time ink-black. "Our entire family is cursed with them."

"Well now that that weird Obito guy is gone, maybe the curse is too?" Naruto pondered aloud. "I mean, your great-grandpa probably had something to do with the curse, since it persisted even after he died."

"Those leaflets that were recovered from the chapel tower claimed that the curse would break when Madara's last link to this world was dead." He breathed out through his nose and frowned at the window.

The boy's face fell and he touched Sasuke's shoulder. "Hey... don't tell me that you feel like that..."

"I'm not suicidal, idiot," the noiret snapped. "Nor am I that stupid. I got lucky when I found out today that Itachi was able to kick the nightmares. I won't deny that I have thought about it a lot, but I still have too much to live for now that I know I won't have to suffer forever. Besides, I think the curse is broken anyway, so now I have even more to live for."

"Like a certain someone?" Like that, the Namikaze's grin was back, and he nudged Sasuke in the side. "Perhaps a girl with pink hair...?"

"My brother is still alive," the Uchiha defended, his cheeks flushing pink. "A- and it's not like I hate her... she saved us all."

"Granny did train her well," Naruto nodded with a hum. "I like the new seal! It really brings out her eyes."

Sasuke didn't answer, simply finding the next building over to be very interesting.

"Hey, you know I'm just kidding you." Naruto pointed out. "Anyways, if you do wanna make a move on her, go for it! Hinata actually asked me to try a date with her next week."

"Finally." He chuckled, nudging the boy back. "I've been waiting for her to ask you for years."

"Y- you knew before I did?!" He squeaked.

Sasuke sent him a deadpan stare. "When she used to visit with her father when we were children, we'd sit and talk about it. Of course I knew before you did. I'd wager Sakura did too."

"Oh yeah, she did meet Hinata before all of that." He nodded in recollection. "Well, what about you? Does Sakura know?"

"If she didn't, it would be... surprising, to say the least." He mumbled, shaking his head. "I don't know if it would be the right time to speak up, however... Mother and Father's deaths are still too fresh for me. Even seeing Itachi again is paining me."

Naruto patted him on the back in sympathy. "Yeah, it doesn't get any better for a while. It stops hurting, but you never forget."

After a few moments of silence, the blond spoke up. "Say, how about you go with her to meet her parents again? She was telling me about going to see her adopted brother. Maybe that'll help a little."

He shrugged loosely. "Maybe."

Naruto gave him a sincere smile. "I'll tell her about it. In the meantime, what do you wanna do? Wanna see if Ichiraku's still open?"

That lifted the Uchiha's spirits a little, as his lips tugged upwards. "You were there just a few days ago, dobe. I'm fairly certain that it didn't spontaneously burn down without our knowledge."

To his amusement, the boy sputtered. "W- well! You never know!"

* * *

"How are you holding up, Rin?" Sakura asked as she sat down on the woman's living room couch.

"I'm... coping," she replied, pouring her a cup of tea. "Kakashi has been a great help. I still can't believe that I lost him again."

A sympathetic frown covered her face as she accepted the cup. "I don't blame you for what happened..."

A sad smile graced the woman's face, and she sighed. "If I hadn't done it, I don't know if the nightmare would have ended. That's the worst part of it. I would never, ever dream of hurting Obi... but I simply had no choice."

"Believe me, I know," the pinkette nodded. "Even when you're forced to hurt others, it hurts you all the more, especially when you have no other way."

A quiet silence settled between them for a few moments as they sipped their tea. The clock on the wall ticked softly, filling the gaps.

Finally, Rin put her cup down and asked, "Are you going to see your family again?"

For a second, a look of utter confusion flickered across the teenager's face. Then she realized what Rin meant, and her frown deepened as she thought it over.

"I... suppose I have to," she finally relented. "No doubt my parents need the closure. I'm just worried about how they'll react to me."

"Arata would be excited," the brunette chuckled. "I might visit them myself, soon."

"Would you rather him call you Aunt?" She wondered.

"Aunt Rin has a nice ring to it, I'll admit." She agreed. "I wouldn't mind being that relation to him until we end up telling him about his true parentage. At the very least, this way he knows he's got a father in his life."

The hurt behind her words hit Sakura again, and she winced. "Ah... right, right."

She cleared her throat. "So, uh, Kakashi! What's he up to now?"

"This and that," Rin shrugged. "Last I heard, he left this morning to the council meeting with Tsunade. I think it's the last one before Shikamaru leaves to escort Temari home."

"Oh, right! They need to figure out who should go with them to supervise!" Sakura snapped her fingers in recollection. "I'm so happy that they decided to give their relationship a try. I have a feeling that they would be wonderful together."

"Isn't it ironic, though?" Rin giggled over her tea. "One would think Shikamaru would gravitate to a quieter woman. But Temari? She would give Tsunade a run for her money!"

The two of them laughed over it.

"I've been thinking about asking Sasuke to come and meet my parents again," she confessed, gripping the cute minty-green cup tighter. "I don't know if my father would approve, but at least he could meet Arata."

"He probably wouldn't have the highest opinion, considering your parents' position," Rin agreed. "Still, he's very impressionable. Perhaps some time will change it."

"Indeed." A smile graced her lips as she set down the cup. "Say, what do you want to cook for dinner?"

"I have ideas, none of which are Kakashi's favorite." A mischievous grin spread across Rin's pretty face as she stood from the couch. "What say you to a good old-fashioned stew instead?"

"Sounds good to me." She got to her feet and moved to the kitchen with the older woman. "Hey, do you think it would freak him out if I used chakra scalpels instead of a regular kitchen knife?"

* * *

**A/N: Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	60. Chapter 59

**A/N: Hey, guys! It took me a long, long time to finally nail down these last three chapters. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the conclusions to the story!**

* * *

_Chapter 59: A Long-Awaited Conclusion_

* * *

The next day, Sakura showed up at Sasuke's hotel room to ask him to accompany her. To her delight, he said yes, and they stopped off at Ino's family flower shop to buy a bouquet.

The girl was working with Sai that day, surprisingly. She explained that she had gotten close with him, and that her family was letting him stay with her to court her.

Armed with a bouquet of white tulips, the duo made their way to Sakura's childhood home.

Arata was sitting on a bench reading a book outside the home when they arrived, and when he looked up he gasped when he saw them.

"Holy cow!" He hollered, hopping to his feet and dropping the book on the bench. "Mama! Mama, it's the prince!"

"What, no greeting for me?" Sakura joked.

He paused, squinting in her direction. Then his eyes widened in recognition. "Are you the pretty lady that helped me get Mama's comb back?"

"The one and only." She handed Sasuke the bouquet and squatted, opening her arms for a hug.

He ran into her arms and wrapped his arms around her neck. "Man oh man, Mama was so happy to get the comb back! I'm happy you came back to see me!"

"I'm happy too, young one," she whispered, standing up as Mebuki came running to the door.

"Arata, you were yelling for-" She stopped short in the doorway, her aged eyes widening.

Arata turned to give her a toothy grin. "Mama! It's the pretty lady I told you about! The pink one! You remember the pink one-"

The cup that she'd been drying fell to the ground, shattering.

Arata let out a squeak, eyes bugging in surprise. "Mama?"

"... Sakura?" Her voice was tiny, trembling, as she beheld her lost daughter with stunned disbelief. "Is that you? Is that really you?"

Sakura gave her a sad smile. "I'm here in the flesh, Mom."

A choked sob escaped the older woman's throat and she ran for her, throwing her arms about her.

Arata blinked in astonishment at the two women, glancing back and forth from Sakura to her mother.

"Kizashi!" She hollered over her shoulder, wiping the rising tears from her daughter's eyes. "Kizashi, come quick!"

Sasuke stood to the side awkwardly as Kizashi appeared, alarmed and concerned.

"Mebuki, what happened to the tea-" He stopped when Mebuki turned, her eyes weepy.

"Kizashi, she's home," she exclaimed in a waving voice. "Our Sakura is alive and home!"

Arata, up until this point horribly confused, looked back to the pinkette with shock.

"Are you my big sis?" He asked. "B- but my big sis is dead!"

Sakura smiled down at the young boy. "That was a cover; I've only been hiding... and I've waited for too long to finally meet you properly, little brother."

"Oh wow!" He exclaimed, hugging her tighter. "Just wait until I show you my books! Mama wrote a buncha stories about you after you went away!"

"Did she now?" Sakura chuckled. She looked up and sent her aging father a crooked grin. "I've missed you, Dad."

"Sakura," he breathed, racing to the hug pile. "My daughter, I- I thought you were- the royal family claimed that you were-"

"In a way, I was dead," she confirmed with a nod. "But I'm alive. I'm here now. I'm not leaving you like that ever again."

Mebuki let out a cry.

Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck when Sakura caught his eye. She winked over at him and said, "Actually, Mom, Dad, there's something else you need to know."

"Did you find a boy? Are you married already?" Mebuki gasped, pulling away to inspect her. "You're not pregnant, are you?! We've only known you're alive for ten minutes! That's too soon to tell me I'm going to be a grandmother!"

"No, no! Not for a long time, I'm afraid." She laughed boisterously, gesturing to Sasuke. "Of course you _remember_ Sasuke, don't you?"

"How could we not?" Kizashi gave him a firm nod. "It's good to see you look so well. I assume you're going to be leading a normal life now?"

"As normal as I can, Haruno-sama." He nodded back and handed the man the flowers. "These are from both of us."

"How lovely," Mebuki exclaimed, wiping her eyes before taking the flower bundle. "I know just where to put these. Oh- we're just about to have lunch! Do you want to join us?"

"I'd love to, if it's no trouble," Sakura replied. She gave Sasuke a sheepish grin, "... Right?"

He shrugged, the tiniest of smiles tugging at his lips. "If you want to stay."

The couple took pause, Mebuki's eyes darting down to the remains of the cup on the welcome mat. After awkwardly sweeping the shards to the side with her foot, she looked back up with a grin.

"Good, good!" Mebuki pressed a chaste kiss to her husband's cheek as she took Arata. "I'm afraid I accidentally dropped the cup, but we should have a couple of spares in the cupboard somewhere."

The teenagers shared an amused smile for a moment before walking into the house behind them, the Haruno family's excited chatter filling the once-lonely home.

* * *

Rin slumped into the chair with a sigh, tugging her hair from the hairnet. It had been a long morning treating patients, and all she wanted was to take a nap.

"Knock knock," Kakashi greeted as he opened her office door with a smile. "Are you in the mood for an energy boost?"

"Kami-sama, _yes_," she groaned, standing up to give him a hug as he placed the container of food down on the counter. "Ichiraku? I didn't think you liked their food."

"From time to time," he shrugged, sitting next to her. "I only ever go with Naruto, as he's always needed an escort."

"I see." She chuckled at the thought. "Of course Kushina's son would."

Kakashi smiled sadly at the table at the mention. "How are you holding up?"

"The pain is lessening," she replied, opening her container to inhale some of the aromatic steam from the noodles. "I don't feel ready to move on yet, of course, but... somehow, it feels like I've had a catharsis. I feel lighter."

"That's good," he encouraged. "A good first step."

She broke her chopsticks after muttering an "Itadakimasu" and dug in, moaning in delight at the food. "I forgot just how good Ichiraku was. Dammit I needed this."

Kakashi chuckled, opening his own container and beginning to eat. "Remember when Minato-sensei took us there after our first trip out of the city?"

"How could I forget?" She answered, her eyes twinkling at the memory. "And Kushina was teasing the hell out of us, especially when she saw Obito's scratches."

"Guess it was a bad idea to send _him_ to get the raccoon, huh?" The gray-haired man rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'll say! I'm the one that had to heal him with my meager preteen medical knowledge!" She sent him a mock glare before her face melted into a fond smile. "Kami-sama we were so young. I can't imagine what the hell we were thinking."

There was a pause.

Swallowing his ramen broth, Kakashi hummed thoughtfully, "We were only twelve and thirteen, as I recall. I will never forget Obito's gloating that we were practically already grown-ups... followed by his begging Minato-sensei to let us drink our first sake."

She laughed, leaning back in her chair. "He just latched right onto the 'today you are men and women' line, didn't he? I'll bet Sarutobi-sensei regretted those words until his dying day."

Kakashi watched her as she ate and began talking about some other memory, noting the way her eyes lit up in a way he hadn't seen in years. She was beginning to gain crows' feet around her eyes, a grim reminder that they were only twenty-seven.

Only twenty-seven. The number felt wrong, somehow. It felt as if they should've been decades older. They were still young, in their prime, and yet with the weary bones of the likes of the long-deceased Sarutobi.

"- and how he just _yelled_," she finished, wiping a tear from her eye as her laughter calmed. "Oh man, I don't think Minato-sensei ever forgave him for that one. Fitting, since I had never, ever seen him get so angry at that point... let alone angry at all."

He smiled, reaching out to grab her hand.

She paused in her next sentence, sending him a confused look. "Kakashi?"

"I've been thinking," he started slowly. "I've come to realize that I can't live without you. I know it's far too soon, but... when you're ready, please tell me, so that I can take care of you properly."

She fell silent, blinking owlishly. "What do you mean...?"

"We won't be young forever," he continued, gazing her in the eye. "And I want to be here for you, for now as your friend, but maybe somewhere down the line, as a life partner of some sort."

Her cheeks warmed, and she looked away with a small frown.

"It... is too soon," she agreed quietly. "But I'll keep your suggestion in mind."

She looked back up at him, this time with a weary smile, one that didn't reach her eyes. "Once I feel like I'm ready, I'll let you know. But for now, I would appreciate having my best friend being here for me."

"I made a promise, one that I don't intend to take lightly." He nodded, pulling her in for a tight hug. "For what my word is still worth, I promise I won't fail either of you again, Rin."

* * *

Shikamaru sighed, practically melting into the bed in the inn. "It feels like we've been running for three days," he muttered, lifting and dropping his legs. "My lower back is killing me."

"Think of it this way." Temari emerged from the bathroom, smiling down at him as she towel-dried her hair. "We only have another day's worth to go before we hit the first major stop. We only need to count the major cities, and we'll be to Sand before you know it!"

"I know," Shikamaru sighed again. "And yet we've got ten days before I get back to Konoha... what a drag."

"Are you that impatient to leave me with my brothers?" She faked a pout. "I'm hurt, Shikamaru. Here I thought I was your loving girlfriend. How rude."

"Of course I love you, Temari, don't be troublesome," he replied tiredly, curling up on the covers. "I'm definitely glad for the break from the council. Somehow I think Tsunade-sama made a mistake putting me on the board when everyone else there is easily at least ten years my senior."

"But that means she trusts your judgement," she pointed out. "Besides, you're nineteen - you're full of fresh ideas from a more youthful perspective."

He winced. "Please, please don't say anything about youth... I've had enough of that from Lee and Captain Gai to last me two lifetimes."

She rolled her eyes at the mention of the two men, chuckling. "Believe me, I remember. You know what I meant."

He rolled over, giving her a fond smile as he held his cheek in his hand. "Yeah, of course I do."

* * *

**A/N: I really love ShikaTema. At first I was kinda iffy about it, but c'mon, these two are so adorable.**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!**


	61. Chapter 60

_Chapter 60: A Lifetime's Wait_

* * *

Three days later, to Tsunade's delight, the council voted to pass the first of many policy changes to the government system. To celebrate, she grabbed Jiraiya and dragged him to Ichiraku for a special dinner together.

The two ate their way through a few bowls each and ended up getting drunk at Tsunade's office, spending their night talking about their future. Tsunade asked (read: demanded) that he go out with her and he all-too-happily obliged, and the two fell asleep on her couch, where Shizune (her estranged niece) found them the next morning. The hangover was a bitch, but Jiraiya happily took what halfhearted punches Tsunade sent his way for what had happened the night before.

The man went through town that day to seek out Naruto, whom he was certain was bugging the ex-prince at the training grounds. Sure enough, when he came to an old training ground that he recalled from his youth, he heard Naruto's hollering and the crackling of lightning that signaled the boys' presence.

He smiled as he watched them spar, and when Naruto thoroughly got his ass kicked he offered to take them to ramen. Sasuke looked like he wanted to refuse, but when Jiraiya mentioned that Tsunade would be bringing Sakura along to give her a break from her hospital duties, the boy straightened and decided to go.

"Ah, how predictable," he'd chuckled to himself as the boys went ahead of him. "They're maturing so fast these days."

They sat at Ichiraku and waited for the kingdom's new ruler and her apprentice to appear. Naruto managed to eat his way through three bowls before the girls arrived, Sakura exclaiming "Naruto, you're gonna make yourself sick!"

"Don't you worry, Sakura-chan!" Naruto had momentarily stopped eating to turn and grin, giving her a thumbs-up. "I'm practically made of ramen by now! This ain't nothing!"

"More like your blood is ramen," Sasuke snorted, shaking his head as the two sat down. "What's your blood type again? Type Pork?"

"Oi! Why you teme...!" Naruto growled, cracking his knuckles. "Round twelve in the training grounds after we finish eating?"

"Guys," Sakura sighed heavily, sending them both scorching looks. "Can't it wait until after eating? I haven't had anything since breakfast, and I'm starving."

"Yes, please," the woman agreed, sitting next to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. She gave the weary girl a grin. "How has the hospital been treating you?"

"It's a difficult transition, but I think we'll make it." Sakura gave a thumbs-up. "Shizune-san has been a big help."

"I sure hope so; that girl has a real aptitude for the medical arts." The blonde snorted, leaning back in the chair. "I want both of you to succeed me someday."

The girls both ordered and joined the chatter. Jiraiya cleared his throat when the girls' bowls arrived, catching the teenagers' attention. "Tsuna and I have something we need to tell you three."

"Are you dating yet?" Sakura asked blandly, taking a sip of broth.

"Tsunade and I are- wait, how'd you guess?" Jiraiya was genuinely surprised.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all groaned in unison.

"C'mon, Pervy Sage, we all knew," Naruto pointed out. "You aren't exactly subtle about it."

"Tell me about it," Sasuke mumbled between slurps of noodle.

Tsunade shook her head in amusement. "I told you they were smart."

"More like everyone else is either painfully oblivious, or just keeping it from you." Sakura added with raised eyebrows. "I'm ninety-percent positive that half the camp already knew about your feelings before that whole mess happened."

"And Mother and Father knew long before _that_," Sasuke chimed in. "Whenever they would speak of the Senju clan, you'd get this look in your eyes. I recall them talking about it often." He paused, before giving them a smirk. "They had a betting pool, you know."

"And I lost two-thousand yen to it!" Naruto grumbled, jabbing at a piece of pork with his chopsticks. "Aunt Mikoto really was the queen of gambling. How come you turned out to be so bad at it with that kind of influence?"

A vein in Sasuke's forehead throbbed, and he gave the blond a glare. "I'm not that bad at it," he hissed.

"Please. You once lost thirty-thousand yen to Neji over the Chuunin exams. The _Chuunin exams_! You bet on the team voted 'Most Likely to Drop Out'!"

Both Tsunade and Jiraiya sweatdropped as the boys began arguing. Sakura just watched them in disdain, finishing up her bowl.

"Well, I've got to go," she said, leaving some money on the counter to pay for her portion. "I might as well hit the training grounds for a little bit to get out some nervous energy before my next shift. Congratulations, you two!"

As she left, the two adults just looked at each other in disbelief.

"Maybe we really are that obvious," Tsunade slowly said. "I can't believe no one ever said anything."

"_I_ can't believe Mikoto had a betting pool," Jiraiya sulked. "She knew she was undefeated! How could she have been bet against? Who would willingly lose their money like that?!"

"Besides Naruto?" The blonde rose an eyebrow.

"_Besides_ Naruto!"

* * *

Later that afternoon, the news went out that Tsunade and Jiraiya were romantically involved. The reactions among the people ranged from "Fucking finally" to "Ugh, here we go again with a Senju romance". The consensus was mostly positive, however, and the citizens were excited to see how they would lead the country in the coming times.

To their surprise, however, Tsunade named Naruto her heir - and asked Hiashi if he could start courting his daughter. The man was stunned at first, and a little reluctant to agree to it (considering what happened last time), but upon Neji and Hanabi pleading on the girl's behalf, he finally came to an agreement. Hinata could go out with Naruto, but only if the Hyuuga were allowed more influence in the kingdom. Tsunade accepted and graciously allowed some of the younger members a spot on her council. Neji and Hanabi were among them (well, when the girl turned 16), a liberty they were surprised to receive.

Once he became a councilman, Neji decided to try speaking more amicably to Tenten - a feat that amused her at first. But when it became clear that the awkward man was genuinely trying to get to know her better than 'just distant allies', she felt sympathetic and decided to give him a shot.

Sasuke was being prepped for the workforce. Since the council didn't fully trust him with shinobi activity yet (not that he blamed them, honestly), for now he would be a battle strategist to help quell small rebellions along the outskirts of the kingdom, as well as to help rekindle Konoha's relations with Suna.

The Akatsuki drifted away from the capital, their work done, although Pain and Konan still wandered in from time to time to catch up with their mentor. The group remained a mercenary organization for peace, although they weren't exactly employed by one nation only. Itachi, of course, kept an eye on his brother from a distance, content to watch him grow from the shadows. Now that their hostility was mostly quelled, he felt it would be too awkward to jam himself back into the boy's life at the moment.

The Uchiha elders bitterly protested the changes, of course, but reparations from Tsunade quelled some of the outrage for now. Most of them were removed from their positions of power, but some of the more trustworthy ones were kept on (some of Shisui's relatives, for example, at Itachi's request). They were allowed to keep their little district of the city, but the hostility towards Konoha (and Konoha's silent hostility of them) were to cease immediately. It was a slow, awkward process, but Tsunade was determined not to go down the same path that her ancestors almost did.

* * *

**A/N: Only one more to go! Thank you all for sticking with me for this long.**

**Please tell me what you thought! See you next week for the epilogue!**


	62. Epilogue

**A/N: The end is finally here! I hope you enjoy, and see you at the bottom!**

* * *

_Chapter 61: Epilogue - One Year Later_

* * *

**AUGUST 1, XX19**

**HIDDEN LEAF VILLAGE, THE LAND OF FIRE**

* * *

Tsunade sighed heavily, leaning against Jiraiya's chest as she sat her pen down. "Becoming Hokage is the worst decision I've ever made," she complained as he began to massage her shoulders. "Why did you talk me into this?"

"It was the council's decision, remember?" He chuckled, pressing a chaste kiss to her temple. "And I happen to think you made a _great_ choice becoming Hokage. The people love you."

"Yeah, all the ones that weren't upset that Fugaku and Mikoto, ah, 'deserted' the throne and left me to clean up the mess." She used air quotes and frowned. "Not to mention we still have the Uchiha elders to think about. A lot of them were still alive during the war, remember that?"

"How could I not?" The man easily replied, resting his chin on top of her head. "But you forget that they still support you, even after you had to make sweeping changes to the government. Begrudgingly or not, at least it's peace."

She sighed again, closing her eyes. "I'm so tired," she mumbled. "I need a drink."

"Why don't you go take a lunch break with Shizune, and I'll handle some of the paperwork?" Jiraiya suggested.

"Are you sure?" The blonde frowned, twisting to look up at him. "You hate paperwork."

"Just as much as you," he reminded with a smile. "Hurry, before I lose my motivation and this never gets done."

"Alright, alright," she chuckled, getting up from the chair. She felt a hand on her backside and flinched, turning to give him a syrupy smile. "_Jiraiya_..."

"Sorry, sorry, habit," he laughed, raising his arms in defense. "To be fair, though, you _did_ marry me."

"A decision I regret every day," she said dryly before breaking into chortling laughter. "I'll be back in a bit. You want anything?"

"Just you," he rested his chin in his palm and gave her a cheeky grin.

Tsunade blushed, turning away to conceal a smile. "I'll see if they have some fried chicken then."

"You're the greatest, love!" He called after her as she left the office.

* * *

Tsunade hummed as she walked. When she passed the library, she smiled when she saw Naruto and Hinata inside, reading from the same book.

"They've gotten so cute," she sighed, watching as Hinata turned a page, Naruto idly playing with the ends of her hair. Both were smiling, content.

They were still dating over a year later, deciding to get married in September. Since Hinata was technically the heir to the clan once more, Hiashi had to give his blessing for it. To everyone's surprise, he agreed almost immediately, claiming that he was getting up in years and that he just wanted to retire and live a peaceful life among the elders. He shocked everyone when he said he trusted Hinata enough to let her decide, which made for quite the emotional moment between father and daughter.

She waved at the couple when they looked up, and Naruto gave her a cheeky grin and his own enthusiastic wave in return. Hinata smiled, a light blush on her cheeks, as she waved too. The girl had gotten more confident in herself over the past year, no doubt due to her family's acceptance and things returning to normal.

She turned and walked away, looking up at the bright blue sky. It would be a hot week. Perhaps she and Jiraiya would have to go on a short vacation to the coast?

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura's voice called out to her, and she turned with a proud smile at her youngest pupil. The girl jogged up to her, brushing her hair out of her face.

"How's your day been so far?" She asked.

"Boy, it's been busy," the pinkette huffed a laugh. "Sasuke's been working himself into the ground trying to train up the recruits. I've barely been able to convince him to take breaks."

"I'll bet," the woman chuckled.

"Ah, and the hospital is full as ever," the girl mused. "Karin is really good with matching chakra types for donations. I honestly don't know what we'd do without her."

Ah, Karin. The girl had been slow to heal, but was getting back into the swing of things with the help of her friends and cousin. She was exceptional as a sensor and had come in handy on many a mission out of the village. Currently, she was training up the next generation of chakra sensors, both in combat and in the medical arts. There'd been a surprising number with chakra control great enough to try out. The woman was incredibly excited at the thought.

"And... how are you handling it?" Tsunade softly asked, patting her shoulder.

Sakura gave a small sigh, but smiled up at the older woman. "I'm... managing, I guess. It's been hard getting used to this peace, but I kinda like it. It's monotonous enough to keep me distracted."

"Are you ever going to confess to that boy?" She bluntly asked.

"What? No no no, that's totally fine." The pinkette burst into laughter, and a few heads turned to see before fondly smiling and turning back to what they'd been doing. "We've decided we're gonna take it slow for now. Who knows? Maybe one day the tension will finally give us both a wake-up call and make us actually come together."

"If it takes a mission to do it, then you can have the one to Yugakure," Tsunade slyly suggested. "I've been trying to pick my two best spies for the job, and I think you two would be perfect."

Sakura smiled, slightly shaking her head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm sure there are others out there who are more perfect than we would be, but if you really can't think of anyone else, I know I'll at least be available."

She patted the girl's shoulder again. "That's my girl."

The two came to Yakiniku Q, where Ino immediately spotted them and flagged them down. "Sakura! Lady Tsunade!"

The two good-naturedly rolled their eyes when people looked over, and Sakura went over to the small group while Tsunade went to the counter for some take-out.

"Hey guys!" Sakura greeted, sliding in next to Ino and giving her a quick arm-hug. "Sai, hey, how're you doing?"

"We're doing just fine," he greeted. "Have you gotten gray hairs from overworking yourself yet?"

Chouji and Shikamaru chuckled. Temari simply shook her head.

Sakura laughed, but it felt a little forced. "Not quite," she reassured. She noticed Temari and beamed. "How're you doing?"

"It's an adjustment, but we're doing it!" The blonde cheered, squeezing Shikamaru's hand under the table. "Honestly, I don't know what I would've done if Yoshino-san wasn't here to help. She's made it easier."

Shikamaru and Temari were, surprisingly, one of the group to get married first. They'd tied the knot in February in Suna, where Gaara had given them his blessing to move to Konoha. Temari was reluctant to move away from her brothers (claiming that _someone _had to keep them from acting stupid), but eventually agreed that they could manage just fine without her. They'd moved back to Konoha the next month, much to the Naras' delight. Yoshino absolutely took to her daughter-in-law, and their friends were happy to have them back.

Sai and Ino were next, getting married two months later. The two seemed happy enough, even if it felt like an odd coupling.

"So, are the rumors true?" Sakura asked after ordering a drink. She waggled her eyebrows at Ino's tea. "Hmmmm?"

"You'll be the first to know, Billboard Brow." Ino replied with a mysterious smile, taking another sip. "How are things with you and the Ice Cube?"

"C'mon, you would know already. That's not a fair question." She pouted, causing the blonde to laugh. "It's steady, that's for sure."

"He seems like he's rebounded quickly from the deaths of the king and queen," Chouji chimed in thoughtfully. "Has he shown any interest in anything at all?"

"Well, not exactly," the pinkette tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "He's polite enough, but we don't exactly interact outside of me nagging at him to stop and take a break before he has chakra exhaustion."

"In other words, yikes," Temari winced. "I'm so sorry."

She shrugged. "It's not so bad. I know where I stand, and hopefully either something will blossom from it or perhaps I'll finally be able to move on. Either way, I know I'm good."

* * *

Tsunade continued on her way, bag of fried chicken takeout in hand. She passed by the new weapons shop, and her smile grew. She decided to stop in on Tenten for a bit.

When she stepped in, Tenten looked up and immediately grinned at her. "Lady Tsunade! I didn't expect to see you here today."

The young woman of twenty-one was as youthful as ever (although she'd probably cringe if she heard it said out loud, having lived near Gai and Lee for her whole life), hair up in a 'space buns' hairstyle much like her teenage one, except ending in a braid down the middle. Still the same style as she always had, today she had a pretty jade-green qipao dress with a white obi.

"Just thought I'd drop in on my way back to the office," the woman replied, sitting down on a stool in front of the counter. "How have you been?"

"Business as usual," the pretty brunette chirped. "Luckily with the restored relations with Wind I can finally start turning a profit again. The store was totally packed yesterday."

"I'm glad." Tsunade chuckled. "How are things with Neji?"

Tenten blushed, looking away with a sheepish expression. "Well, we, er, we're fine."

"Just fine?" A raised eyebrow.

"Maybe a little more than fine," she admitted with a grin. "He actually asked me out on a date a few days ago. We're gonna try things out, I think."

"Well good for you, congratulations." The woman nodded proudly. "Maybe that will ease his stress. I kind of feel bad for making him a council member."

"Don't be, he says it's one of the only things that gives him substance." Tenten chuckled. "Once Hanabi joins next March, I think that'll ease him a little more. He's been the one supervising her admittance, and it's more work than either of them thought it would be, considering her age and clan rank."

"I see," Tsunade hummed, stroking her chin. "I'll have to let them know to lay off him a little. Don't want them running him off before he even turns twenty-five."

"Yeah," the girl laughed. "Well, it was great talking with you again. Are we still on for that anniversary dinner in a few weeks?"

"Of course, I wouldn't cancel that for anything." She smiled, patting the girl's cheek. "I'll see you later, schedule permitting."

* * *

When Tsunade finally made it back to the office, she was pleasantly surprised to see Rin and Kakashi already there, chatting pleasantly with Jiraiya.

"Hey you two," she greeted with a smile, setting the takeout down on the desk. "How are things going?"

"Oh, y'know," Rin waved it off with a bright smile. "We're finally making progress on those scrolls you found."

"I'll be presenting it to the council tomorrow," Kakashi added, a twinkle in his visible eye. "Sasuke and Itachi have been a great help in deciphering them."

"Excellent," the woman praised, going to sit back down in her chair. She looked over the documents with an appraising eye, humming her approval of each one before resting her elbows on the desk, clasping her hands together. "So, given any thought as to the state of things?"

"We're staying together," Rin confirmed. "Not romantically, but more like... what's the phrase...?"

"Platonic life partners," Kakashi finished with a nod.

"Well, as long as you're both happy." Tsunade smiled at them. "Ever think of taking on pupils? We've got a whole bunch of them coming, y'know."

"Maybe," Kakashi shrugged noncommittally. "I wouldn't make the best teacher."

"Oh come now, you would so be a good teacher!" Rin exclaimed, gently patting his arm. "If I could momentarily get a replacement at the hospital, I definitely would try to, but we're just too swamped with work at the moment for me to even think about leaving to foster some genin."

Tsunade hummed, resting her chin atop her hands. "Shizune, Karin, and Sakura are heading it with you, are they not?"

"Karin is being trained to eventually replace one of our head staff, yes," she confirmed. "But I need someone to replace me so that I can take a more active role somewhere else."

"We'll look into it." The blonde winked at her. "What of the Haruno boy? Have you been to see him yet?"

"It's only been a year." Rin sadly smiled. "Arata is only seven, I'm afraid. I don't quite feel ready to face him yet... not after Obito."

Kakashi gently squeezed her shoulder, and she gave him a grateful nod back.

"I understand." The woman nodded once more, resting against Jiraiya's chest. "Well, I was thinking... if he ever decides to go into the medical field, perhaps he could be trained...?"

"He's been enrolled into the academy this year, but he has yet to show any aptitude for the medical arts." Kakashi reported. "He's only recently awakened his eyes, but for now they're fairly weak. He'll need extra guidance from a trusted confidant in order to master them."

"You've got a point." Jiraiya piped up, pointing to him. "You do it, then."

Kakashi startled for half a second, blinking rapidly. "M- me?"

"You received training for yours, did you not?" He asked. "I understand it's awkward to be around the boy, but he's an innocent not yet muddled in our affairs. I can't think of anyone else qualified enough to do it."

"Sasuke could," he offered weakly. "He has a keen intellect and would be a wonderful teacher."

"He's too strict," Jiraiya disagreed, shaking his head. "Like Rin has said, the boy's only seven. I would normally recommend Sasuke for someone a little older, like graduation age at the least."

The man let out a breath. This time, Rin was the one to squeeze his arm. "I'll... think about it."

"Please do." He nodded, satisfied. "Now, any word on the remains of Shisui?"

"Itachi has reported that Orochimaru's main base of operations was leaked to the Akatsuki a month ago," Kakashi reported, his face becoming very serious. "As of yesterday morning, it was raided and ultimately destroyed. They gathered up as much evidence as they could before they captured the snake. It's now confirmed that Shisui was abducted by three of the council members at the time and..."

When he made a gesture across his hidden eye, Tsunade recoiled with a repulsed face.

"They would dare to do such a thing?" She angrily demanded. "He was still but a boy! He was only sixteen, just new to adulthood!"

"The depths of Orochimaru's depravity knew no bounds, it seems," Jiraiya muttered under his breath, his clenched fist shaking.

"He's currently in custody at one of our prisons near Hakikyu, awaiting trial." Kakashi continued. "I believe Yamanaka Inoichi was assigned his case."

"Good, maybe he'll get some more telling information." The woman breathed in relief. "A fair warning, though, it's incredibly difficult to get into his head. Once you're in it... well, it's safe to say you'll wish you never went in to begin with."

"He's a twisted man," Jiraiya agreed solemnly. "But at one point, he was a friend. I'd like to request no treatment be harsher than it has to be."

"Of course. I'll relay that information as soon as I can." The gray-haired man bowed at the waist. "Is that all?"

"Yes, if you have nothing further to say." Tsunade nodded. "You are dismissed."

Without another word, the two walked out of the office side-by-side. As soon as the door closed, Tsunade heaved a heavy sigh and slumped against her husband, closing her eyes when she felt his hand begin to go through her hair at her scalp.

"What are we going to do?" She mumbled. "That poor boy's family... they won't take this well."

"Neither will the rest of them," he reminded. "They trusted each other because, in the end, the clan was all they had. To know that your own family betrayed you in this way..."

"Well, there really isn't much we can do on that front. We can give reparations, and if we do manage to retrieve his body, we can give them that." Jiraiya massaged her temples with a frown. "I doubt that Orochimaru kept the body looking nice, though. There's no telling what we would find if we even did find him. Chances are that he's not even in one piece anymore."

"Unlikely, what with Madara still being alive for so long." She snorted. "Who knows how many of his parts were forcibly donated."

The two sat there quietly for a few moments.

Finally, Jiraiya breathed out through his nose, kissing the crown of her head. "Well, tell me about your break while we eat. Unless you ate already?"

"I got you the takeout and got myself a good walk, but that's it." She replied, grabbing the box off the desk and opening it.

The heavenly smell of fried chicken filled the room, and the two each took a portion, opening up the sauces.

"Here's to another year of prosperity," Tsunade said, holding up one piece to lightly tap it against Jiraiya's in a humorous mimic of a toast.

"Here's to another year of peace," he added with a chuckle before taking a bite.

The two took their time, chatting and laughing over the food. The people in Fire were happier than they had been in a while, and while not everyone was happy with this new era of Konoha, at least there was peace at last.

* * *

_To be continued...?_

* * *

**A/N: AND IT'S FINALLY DONE! Thank you all so much for sticking with this book through the long update schedule. I've greatly enjoyed reading all of your responses and hearing that you've enjoyed. Quick special shoutouts to Uchiha Sarada1, JoyellMark Klimek, ScaredUselessPillow, sasusakusara7, HarukaSempai14, and Sreyeshi Saha for your reviews and continued support.**

**Like hinted at the end there, perhaps this will get a sequel soon. I can't guarantee it'll be as long as this one (seriously, 62 chapters is my longest to date!), there may be some characters you'll recognize. For those of you who follow my account on AO3 (Angel_of_the_Axis, to be precise), keep your eyes open for the official rewrite, "Civil Twilight" around January 2nd or 3rd. At this point, I've got a minimum of 100 chapters planned, but who knows how long it will eventually get. Once that's done, I can start on the sequel. So you'll probably get it around 2022 or so! It's a long ways away for now, giving me ample time to prepare. I've already gotten a bare-bones framework done for it, so that'll make the process much easier this time around.**

**And speaking of 62 chapters, this is my first book to hit over 100K words! It was a long and arduous process, but it's been a fun, fun ride, and one that I don't regret. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have! I know I've said it before, but I genuinely appreciate all the support. There were many times I thought of giving up, but I wanted to stick it out because I love seeing how you all react to it, whether happy, sad, or anything in between.**

**Anyways, all of that aside, please tell me what you thought of this! This chapter, the book, whatever you wish. I'll see you later in my other works!**


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